When the Triumvirate says ‘jump’, you say ‘on who’
by syrai
Summary: Mr Parker tells Miss Parker that the Triumvirate has new orders for her and they have nothing to do with bringing Jarod back to the Centre... better summary inside, JarodMissParker. ON HIATUS.
1. PROLOGUE the project Virgo

**Title:** When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who'

**Show:** the Pretender

**Author:** Syrai

**Genre:** Drama, probably

**Rating:** PG-13 (will probably have nc-17 stuff, too but that's in the later chapters)

**Pairing:** Miss Parker/Jarod

**Status: **Work in Progress

**Feedback: **Loved and cherished, as always.

**Summary:** Takes place before the two final episodes. Miss Parker has been chasing Jarod for such a long time that sometimes she forgets why she's even doing it… then all the sudden, her father tells her that the Triumvirate has new orders for Miss Parker and they have nothing to do with brining Jarod back...

**A/N:** Yes I've seen the whole show, each and every single episode and though I was tempted to write a fic that takes place _after_ the 4th season, I decided not to. Just because this is something that's been on my mind ever since I started watching the show and I don't think it would apply, wouldn't be doable that is, after the final episodes. Therefore this thing takes place before those two very critical and final episodes, but will probably reveal the secrets of those two episodes, too. With my nasty twists and evil plots, of course. Wouldn't be fun without them, now would it? That should also explain why everything isn't like in the show, alright? (Sorry, I've just got bored with flames telling me my fan fic/s are different from the show… as if that wasn't the idea of a fan fic, you know? If I have some should-have-known-kind-of-facts wrong, let me know. I can't always remember everything, heh.)

Yes I've seen the whole show, each and every single episode and though I was tempted to write a fic that takes place the 4th season, I decided not to. Just because this is something that's been on my mind ever since I started watching the show and I don't think it would apply, wouldn't be doable that is, after the final episodes. Therefore this thing takes place before those two very critical and final episodes, but will probably reveal the secrets of those two episodes, too. With my nasty twists and evil plots, of course. Wouldn't be fun without them, now would it? That should also explain why everything isn't like in the show, alright? (Sorry, I've just got bored with flames telling me my fan fic/s are different from the show… as if that wasn't the idea of a fan fic, you know? If I have some should-have-known-kind-of-facts wrong, let me know. I can't always remember everything, heh.) 

**Note:** I write this, yes, but my original fics are my priority. I'm also moving and with all the other stuff going on in my life, I may be slow with adding chapters. Don't lose your faith, alright?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters that the maker/s of the Pretender have created. If I decide to add an original character, well that person I do own then. And if you're smart enough, which I'm sure you are, you'll notice that the title of my fic here has been conducted, so to speak, from a quote said by Miss Parker.

**When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who'**

by Syrai

Prologue – the project Virgo

Miss Parker had always known the assignment given to her would never end. Deep down, she had always known that the deal she had made with the Centre, with her own father, would never let her go from its grasp. She wasn't sure why, though. Her father had secrets he didn't want her knowing about, she was sure of it, so why was it that he always found a way to keep her there when she wanted to leave?

This new assignment of hers was honestly the last straw.

"Daddy, you aren't serious, are you?" The question she asked was said with a fragile tone of voice which surely couldn't have come out her mouth. Miss Parker cleared her throat, refusing to sound that weak. Her father was sitting on his comfy chair, fingers joined and just stared at her with his steely eyes. She felt like sitting down to melt the words spoken by Mr Parker not longer than a minute ago, but couldn't let herself do it. So instead, she hold her position by the door, arms crossed and returned his stare with equally icy one. Only her stare had something more in it than his ever did. Confusion. Disbelief… disgust.

"Yes my angel, the orders were very clear. The Triumvirate thinks you're the best one to handle this particular project and if that's how they feel, well then… they get what they want, you know that."

Didn't they always? Miss Parker snorted out loud. "Is this all because he screwed up the project Gemini?"

Her words had probably hit the target, but he didn't act like they had. _Damn. _"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you've been ordered to lead the project Virgo, dear. Plus, it'll give you something to do."

Virgo, what a stupid name to give to a project that had nothing to do with _virgins,_ quite the opposite, really.

"Oh, so this is just because you don't want me snooping around here?" Miss Parker asked with her usual cold tone and brushed a lock of brown hair back to its place away from her eye. "Fear I might reveal the big secret you've been keeping from me all along?"

If Mr Parker was getting annoyed by his daughter's accusations, he didn't let it show. That of course annoyed Miss Parker more than she was willing to admit but like her father, she had learnt to keep her emotions to herself.

"Angel, there are no secrets to reveal." Few years back, the smile on his lips would've settled it and she would've let it go and blindly believed him. But she wasn't that naive little girl anymore. "And if there are, they aren't mine. This wasn't my idea, believe me, but I'll make sure you'll execute the plan as ordered. This is not an appropriate time for you to start acting childishly, dear. It's not good for the Centre and it sure as hell isn't good for my reputation either."

As if she cared his reputation anymore. Still, she didn't continue. As the memories told her, it was always useless to build up an argument with her father when it was clear she couldn't prove anything. She knew there was something her father didn't tell her but couldn't find out what it was. As much as she hated the thought, she had to accept the assumption it was something about her mother. If Mr Parker had anything to do with her death… Miss Parker shivered. She loved her father, but she had loved her mother more.

"I'm not doing it", she said, but this time her voice cracked, "You can't make me."

"Yes you will. And yes I can."

She knew he wasn't lying.

"You've been chasing Jarod for months and every time you think you have him, something happens", he pointed out as if she wasn't beaten already.

"Yeah, the Centre comes and fucks it up." She was beaten alright, but not ready to give up. "Really isn't my problem when you think of it. I hunt him down like a good girl should and you let your lapdog send his team to screw it up."

"Don't talk about your brother like that", Mr Parker barked. He was aware of his children not coming along that nicely, but a little quarrel between the two was just the thing the Centre needed to keep up its pace. The more they fought, they more work they did. Jarod had surely become a trophy to win, although he wasn't sure if that was such a good thing on the other hand. Jarod seemed to know things he didn't want him telling his daughter and if she was to caught him first… no one could predict how that meeting would turn out. And yet, here he was, sending her daughter onto a mission where she would forced to be in close contact with the boy-genius.

"Why, you defending a girl-eating cannibal?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about my dear, so stop trying my patience already. You're not getting out of this one. There's a reason for why they chose you but-"

"But it's on need-to-know basis, right daddy?" She cut in angrily, "And I'm not part of the need-to-know list, am I?"

He shook his head sighing and cleared his throat. "I honestly don't see why you're so mad at me, Angel. Every time Lyle's got close to Jarod you come yelling at me how it was your assignment, not his. And now that I'm offering you a chance to get him, you're rebelling."

"I'm not rebelling", she defended herself. How could he say that? First of all, he hadn't offered her a chance to go get him, as he said. Of course it depended on how you defined the phrase 'get him'. It was obvious both her father and Triumvirate was doubting her abilities not only to catch that fleeing son of a bitch, but to bring him back, too. It had proved difficult, that one was for sure. Had they given up on hope and were just going with the second best option or was this really their way to get her out of the Centre for a little while?

Miss Parker wasn't sure what to think. After Jarod had messed up their project Gemini it was more than obvious he was smarter than they really gave him credit for. He wasn't called a prodigy for nothing, after all. So what was this all about? A way to get her out of their way or really some sick plan they had made hoping she would actually be able to pull it through? It could be fun though and it could give her some answers about her mother's faked death.

Nevertheless… Really, it was probably easier to find him and shoot him, than it was to find him and seduce him.

"Angel, be reasonable."

She looked away taking a deep breathe and turned back to her father. "You're really telling me I'm supposed to go do some dirty stuff, get fat, waste 9 months of my life and _then_ give my precious to you so you can study my baby like it was some freakin' animal?"

Mr Parker nodded. "Shortly, yes. But you're really making it sound so cruel when it's not like that, not at all."

It was insane… almost as insane as the fact she was seriously thinking of it. "Oh gods…" She closed her eyes letting her head fall back, "I'll never fit into this dress again."


	2. CHAPTER 1 the duck pond

**A/N:** Read the long rant I wrote in the prologue and that's pretty much it. Everything still applies me thinks. If anyone STILL has issues with my fic not completely following the season 4's incidents, then for heaven's sake, don't read and save yourself and me from the trouble. Everything that has happened till 'the Inner sense part 1' has happened, but the rest relies on my imagination – am I making myself clear, heh?

Thank you for the reviews, always warm my heart. I've actually never ever read a fic with the whole 'let's get Miss Parker pregnant' (I have no idea how I've managed to let those slip from my sight) idea, but then again, I'm really picky when it comes to the fics I choose to read, heh, so it's no wonder.

**Disclaimer:** Again. Read what I wrote in the prologue and that should do it. I'm too tired (it's 3am) and also too goddamn lazy (that's just me in general) to retype it all, you know. Honestly, if I did get money out of this, you think I'd post it here?

**When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who'**

by Syrai

Chapter 1 – the duck pond

Ice cream. One of the best inventions ever made, no questions asked. Jarod licked the melting ice cream to prevent the substance from dripping down onto his lap. He couldn't really decide what was the best flavor, but vanilla seemed to tickle his senses the most. Maybe because it was so… normal. Not trying to taste anything but real old-time ice cream. Naturally, he didn't really know what 'old-time vanilla' tasted like, but he assumed it was something like the vanilla ice cream he was eating since it was called 'real old-time vanilla'. Mr. Blake, the ice cream seller, had said there was nothing better than the taste of original vanilla ice cream and that it was a real shame you couldn't get it everywhere these days. People change, he said, and so do ice creams with them.

It was so peaceful that for a slight moment Jarod forgot why he had even come there. For some unknown reason, observing strangers had always brought him the kind of comfort he needed to escape from his problems. He could sit there for hours, in a rain station or in a cafe, in some bench in the park or in the lobby of some hotel and just watch how ordinary people lived their lives. And every once in a while he allowed himself to pretend that he was one of them, just waiting for his loved one to arrive. Of course, by the end of the day, he was always forced to wake up into the cold reality and realize he actually didn't have anyone to wait for… or waiting for him.

Now things were different. He had his father and his sister again. When Emily would get better, he'd take her and his father there. They'd sit in that same bench watching the ducks swimming in the pond in front of them and they'd eat ice cream and talk and laugh and be happy. They'd be a family he had been searching for so long. And one of these days, he'd find his mother too.

Emily. Just thinking of her brought a blinding shine into his eyes and a wide, content happy on his lips. Thank God he had been there on time to take care of her after that so called accident. He snorted and the smile faded into a bitter glare. There were just no limits to what the Centre was capable of doing, was there? Not only had they stolen him from his parents when he was just a little boy and killed his brother, but also copied his DNA and made a clone out of him that hadn't even known the truth about himself. The latest episode was about Emily that had been too close to discover something they wanted to keep as a secret… the Centre had cold-bloodedly thrown his little sister out of window onto the street in hope of killing her. Unfortunately Emily had lost her memory and all Jarod had been left with was pictures of some guy he assumed Emily had thought to be him.

It bothered him, not knowing what to do next. He had been thinking of going to pick up Zoey, his some-sort of girlfriend, and introducing her to his newly-found family. The only problem that particular plan had, was the fact he didn't want to get the woman involved with the Centre any more than she already was. If protecting the woman he cared about meant staying away from her for awhile, then it was what he had to do. Jarod sighed. Of course, from another point of view, it would be better for Zoey to be as close to him as possible; at least he could make sure she was in safe hands. Or should he send all three of them, Zoey, Emily and his father out of the country to protect them and try to locate his mother alone? God, he hated being alone!

The ice cream had already vanished down his throat and Jarod knew it was time to stand up and get going. But knowing that didn't really have any kind of effect on him. He just sat there, eyes closed and breathed out, slowly.

"Time to go", he said to himself out loud opening his eyes and not caring if people passing him by looked at him funnily. He had very much gotten used to those; funny looks. During his days outside the badgering walls of his childhood prison, he had received those looks so often that it had actually got amusing. At first he hadn't even noticed them, but with time passing by, he had started to. If he had been someone else, he probably would've given an amazed pretender those looks too.

After only 5 minutes of walking towards the St. Catherine Church where his sister was recovering, he felt his cell-phone vibrate in his breast pocket. What now? It took only a second for him to locate and get a hold of the phone. _Dad…_

"Hey", he picked up smiling. It was always good to hear his father's voice, even though he had seen him every single day since their latest rendezvousing. In fact, Jarod was somewhat sure he was calling from the church in front of him. "Hey son, I've got some news for you. Where are you?"

"Close", he replied, "in case you're with Emily."

"Not this time, Jarod. One of my sources had new information."

Jarod's eyebrow rose up. New information concerning what? Only now he noticed he had stopped somewhere in the middle of the phone call and continued walking towards the church again. "I'm listening."

"Jarod, your mother may be in Seattle." His father's voice quivered with hope, which stopped Jarod's breathing for what seemed like eternity. Could it really be happening? Was this the final clue, the one they had been looking for all along? _Only one way to find out._

"… What… how… I mean…" He wasn't sure what he meant. "If you want I can go check it out", Major Charles offered even though he knew Jarod would want to go himself. As expected Jarod protested. "No dad, I'll go. You stay with Emily." Jarod glanced to his sides before crossing the busy road and entering the Church.

"Son, it might be false alarm… Can you handle it?"

If he had to, of course. Was there anything a pretender couldn't handle? _I'll pretend I'm ok if it's a dead end, like always,_ he thought bitterly. What had happened to the young boy who didn't really know how to be bitter, not even when he had every right to be? Nowadays it was the leading feeling of his, although relocating a part of his family had helped a bit. "Yeah, we'll just keep searching for her if that's how it turns out to be. I'll just check on Emily and get my stuff."

Major Charles let out a breath, but Jarod couldn't be sure whether it was a relieved sigh or not. Probably worried one. "Be careful, ok?"

Jarod opened their room's door smiling. Well, technically it was Emily's room for the time being, but they had all slept in the same room. It felt good to have someone wishing him good luck, fussing and making sure he was safe. In many ways, Sidney had been the one to play the father to the pretender over the passed years; even though he himself had strongly denied it. Still, every time Jarod called him he sensed his worry. The warnings were there, only they were hidden in between the lines. Lately he had started to think they had always been there… all the things Sidney had done for him when he had still been the Centre's private subject of study… even then, he had been protecting the young boy secretly.

But Sidney wasn't his father-character anymore. Occasionally he still helped him break free from Miss Parker's or the Center's attacks, but in the end, he was trying to get his escapee back. Why? Jarod didn't know. The Centre wasn't going to use his skills for good any time soon.

"Jarod?"

"What?" Major Charles' worried voice brought him back to the present. _Focus, Jarod.._ "Oh, don't worry dad, I'll be careful, promise. Always am." He hang up the phone taking a deep breath and sat down into a chair next to Emily's bed. Finding their mother was important, but he really didn't want to leave his baby sister behind. Every time he blinked, he feared she wouldn't be there when he opened his eyes again. The girl was asleep. _Good,_ he thought stroking her hand gently, careful not to wake her up. She needed to rest to fully recover, though it would've been nice to talk to her before he had to leave. With closed eyelids Jarod rested his forehead against her soft hand that he was still holding in his.

"… Jarod." His head shot up immediately as he heard the weak voice speak his name. "Emily", he whispered against her palm. "Figured it's time for me to wake up." She tried to smile and he of course, returned the smile with bright eyes. "You're damn right. We've missed you, sleeping beauty."

"I wonder how _beautiful_ I am after being thrown out of a building…"

Jarod tilted his head. He had only spoken with his sister few times, but both times he had been completely unaware of what had happened to her. "So you remember?"

"Something, yeah… not much, though", Emily replied flinching as the pain shot somewhere in her body. It seemed that every bone and muscle was equally hurt and breathing was more painful than she had ever imagined it to be possible.

"It's ok, you'll get your memory back in time." The sad, vulnerable look on her eyes made Jarod curse silently. How could someone hurt a creature this sweet?

"I just hope it's not too late…"

"Don't worry about it." More than anything he wanted to release the weight from her shoulders, wipe away all the bad memories and nightmares. It was painful for him to watch her like this, all vulnerable and lost. "I'm gonna have to leave you alone for a little while, Em", Jarod said suddenly. He needed to tell her why he was leaving her and it had to be done before she would lose her consciousness again. Clearly it was only a matter of minutes before that would happen. "I'm gonna go try find mom, ok? The sisters are taking care of you and dad's around too. I don't know where he is right now, but he'll be back before the night falls, I tell you that much."

She nodded, too exhausted to speak. Jarod took the unspoken hint and stood up placing her hand back to her side. "You sleep now baby sister, okay? Sweet dreams." With that said, he pressed a tender kiss on her forehead watching her drift away from him once again. But it was ok, because this time, she'd come back. And he'd be there to see it.

0000

Phone. It was a goddamn phone that dared to interrupt her first peaceful dream for months and drag her back to the reality she loathed with every fiber of her being. With a rather violent gesture she rolled over to her other side and reached for the phone on her nightstand.

"What?" Miss Parker snarled her always so pleasant greeting. _It's 6 am,_ she realized casting a glance towards the alarm clock next to her phone. "This better be something important or I'll shove this phone up into-"

"I-it's me, Broots", a stuttering voice cut her words. "Oh, you", she snorted letting her body fall back onto the bed. Damnit, why couldn't he have called just a little bit later? Few minutes, ten maybe. She had been seeing a dream so vivid about Thomas that…

He's dead, Parker. "What is it?"

"It's about…" he hesitated, obviously not trusting the line. Well he was right – the Centre had a nasty little habit with tapping her phone whenever it suit their purposes. "-you know who."

When it was said with a tone like his, she sure did. The tiredness vanished immediately as she sat up straight flying the blanket as far as possible. "I'll be there in a flash." As usual, the phone clicked before he could say another word.

The flash, as she had called it, turned out to be an hour and a half. Well, an hour and 37 minutes to be precise, but who really counted? Broots sighed glancing his watch. Yep, an hour and 38 minutes now.

It was at that unfortunate minute that the doors leading to Miss Parker's office where pushed open. "Get your ass off my chair!" Miss Parker didn't have to tell him twice.

"You didn't tell anything to Sidney, did you?" She questioned right away. _I swear I'll strangle you if you did!_

"Good morning to you too." Just one deadly glare silenced his witty remark. "No, you told me not to", Broots replied shakily. Why couldn't she be in a good mood at least once a month? She was so beautiful when she smiled… besides, there was that gastric ulcer to worry about if she didn't loosen up a bit. Of course saying his thoughts out loud didn't even cross his mind. There were so much better ways to die than to be beaten to death by Miss Parker.

"So, tell me, what is it?" She was already sitting in her chair, elbows on the table staring at him questioningly. She was more or less clearly not in the mood of word games, so he said what he had to say. "I believe Jarod is in Seattle. I-"

She waved her hand not wanting to hear another word. "Don't even bother explaining how you did it, nerd. Just be a good boy and give me an address."

He frowned. Darn, was she really going to… well… _go_ with the current orders? "You aren't really going to do… _it_, you know?"

"What other choices do I have?" Her voice seemed strong, but underneath she felt the exact opposite. Weak and tired. If only there was a way to end it all… to make her mother's killer pay for his actions and leave the Centre behind for good. She had tasted the life outside these walls and she had to admit, it tasted better than the life she had now. "They won't let me resign, but they don't want me here, either. It's an impossible situation from which I have no way out. _Alive"_, she added relishing the last word, stretching it to make her point heard. "If I don't do it, the Triumvirate will find a way to get rid of me. And I don't intend to get buried myself before _I've _buried the son of a bitch who killed my mother."

The only thing Broots could do, was nod. "When the Triumvirate says 'jump'-"

"you say 'on who', I know, I remember", Broots finished her sentence sighing out, defeated. The cynical smile he received seemed satisfied with herself. So she should be - her point had been heard, indeed.

"So, the address?" She questioned again after giving Broots a moment to internalize her words. Finally, he gave up. "I'll regret this later, won't I?"

"No", she opposed rolling her eyes as Broots hold out a piece of paper for her to grab, "but I probably will."


	3. CHAPTER 2 the nightly interruption

**A/N:** You know what I'm going to say, don't you? Wondering why I bother repeating myself? Yeah, me too.

**Disclaimer:** I still haven't sold (I actually did type 'selled' before I realized it's irregular or whatever verb. Feel bad for me) this fic. Therefore I'm sill not getting any money (darn) and it'd be rather useless for you to sue me. I'm a poor student with nothing but rat poop (Don't get me wrong, I love my pets but.. well, yeah, they poop.)

**When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who'**

by Syrai

Chapter 2 – the nightly interruption

Sometimes there were days Miss Parker couldn't prevent herself from daydreaming. Most of the time those dreams were about her mother. She pictured the way she'd look now that she'd be years older, how her hair would look like and just how wrinkled her skin would be, if at all. Would she have wrinkles caused by laughter in the corners of her mouth? Would she still be as loving and caring as she was when her daughter had been young?

Sometimes the dreams were about Thomas. It had taken a lot of time before she could think of him without bursting into tears and drowning into self-pity. Now that the grief wasn't leading her life anymore, she could let herself get lost into a dream world where she still had the man she had loved. In that place she had that beautiful white brick walled house with its own beautiful garden. There was that wooden swing hanging from the tree in their front yard, and there was… a child too. Usually two; a boy and a girl. Twins. Probably because she had never really decided if it was a baby boy she wanted or a sweet little girl. With how the things had turned out… she didn't really want to have kids at all anymore. Had she never wanted?

…It didn't matter anymore. Thomas wasn't coming back no matter how she hoped.

The anger came from nowhere. It was all Jarod's fault, really. If it wasn't for him, she would have never met Thomas. She would've had never lost him, either. Jarod had once asked him if she believed the saying "it's better to love and lose than have never loved at all" and it had taken her this long to realize what the correct answer was… better not have loved at all. Maybe it was bitterness in her that spoke, cynicism of some sort, but she honestly did feel like that. If she had never met Thomas, she would have never felt the kind of pain and grief she still sometimes felt.

Suddenly she was angrier with herself than with Jarod. If she had done her job in the first place, Jarod would've been brought back into the Centre ages ago. If that had actually happened, he wouldn't have had been able to mess around with her life to begin with. But then, if she really had to blame some one, she could've just as easily blame the Centre for being stupid enough to let their pretender run away. If _they_ had done their job right, they would've had never needed her services.

The conclusion. The blame was to be carried by the Centre.

Miss Parker dropped the piece of clothing from her hands into the big black suitcase lying on her bed and walked back to her wardrobe as slowly as she possibly could. _What?_ If she had to go to Seattle, she'd at least take something else than the clothes she was wearing with her... If it had been any other mission, she naturally wouldn't have cared what she had on, but this wasn't any other mission, right? She would've chased Jarod even with her pajamas if necessary, but it wasn't about chasing this time, now was it? No, not by far. Admittedly, a part of her was only defying her orders. If Jarod had already left Seattle, assuming he really was there at all, it would take a lot longer for her to be able to follow her commands. They'd have to find him first, wouldn't they?

She smirked maliciously. Maybe her father had been right after all; she was rebelling, but only because of the disgust this new commission of hers brought. Were they really that pathetic? Or was Jarod just really that important; that smart? She carried another piece of clothing into the suitcase. Really, didn't they have other young pretenders in some secret safe place she didn't know of that they could exploite and take advantage of? Damn, she hated the Centre.

Half an hour later Miss Parker was done. She had no other ways to delay her leaving although she was pretty damn sure the helicopter wasn't going to leave without her. It would've watered down the whole thing, after all. The car was already waiting for her outside her house, she realized this the moment she walked through the front door.

_How typical,_ she thought half-annoyed, half-amused_, they just have to make sure I don't miss my ride, huh? Like I need a goddamn babysitter._

"Good afternoon, Miss Parker."

"There's nothing good about this afternoon", she snapped tossing her suitcase to the driver that had stood out of the car and now held a door open for her. Without waiting for his reply, she got into the car and slammed the door shut herself. Letting the Centre boss her around was humiliating, but at the same time it was something she had grown accustomed to. It was the Centre that had nurtured her since she was a little girl, so, what else could you expect?

Miss Parker rested her head against the headrest bringing her fingers to meet her temples. A migraine was drumming somewhere in the back of her head getting stronger and stronger by every drum, she could feel it. Trying to find a better position to sit in, she placed her other knee on top of the other and gazed out of the window. An exhausted sigh slid through her lips. She had practically grown behind that thick glass, watching all the things that happened, but always invisible to the people on the other side. It was this black glass and the fences of the Centre that had always separated her from the real world.

Still, no matter how much Miss Parker hated the Centre and its dirty secrets, the family she knew was all there. Besides, she had her pride. And because of that pride she had decided to give her best shot and accomplish the given mission no matter what it demanded. Was it because of her desire to show her father she was as good in this as her brother was, or was it just because she wanted to find out the big secret they refused to tell her… Who in the end was behind her mother's death and just what the hell was _mirage? _

_I bet Lyle knows it._ It wasn't fair. She had been there first, she had been Parker longer than he had but still it was Lyle, the maniac psychopath that seemed to know everything that happened in the Centre. _Or then he knows because he really IS maniac psychopath…_ Either way, it irritated her. It wasn't her fault she hadn't born as a boy so why did she have to suffer because of it? But it also made her wonder… if her father hadn't shut her out like that, would she have grown to be like Lyle? Would she have been in charge and if yes, what kind of place had the Centre been then? She didn't know and it worried her. If it came down to that, she was as cruel and manipulative as Lyle was… and she wasn't too fond of that fact.

With the last name, there came the inner wild-beast that was prepared to do anything to get the power into its owners hands.

She snorted. Fate, or whatever it was that was guiding her miserable life towards the crappy ending, really knew how to throw dirt on her eyes.

0000

Miss Parker wasn't answering. It was the third time during that afternoon that Jarod had tried to reach her, but still nothing. He could've tried calling her cell-phone, but if she did answer, she probably would've had company and Jarod didn't feel like talking to her with a bunch of people listening to her every single word. It wasn't the real Miss Parker then. He had no reason to call, really, but every now and then it felt comforting to hear her grumpy voice at the other end of the line. Stupid or not, it actually did cheer him up most of the time.

The clue he had followed down to Seattle seemed to withdraw farther away the closer he got. It felt absolutely pointless to stay in that hotel room trying to figure out when the next step should be taken and what that step even was? The fact he had been in a hurry when he left from his previous hide-out, didn't really help. Jarod had this weird feeling he had forgotten something, but couldn't recall what it was. He hated when that happened. He was a pretender for crying out loud, a _genius,_ he wasn't supposed to forget important little details that could lead the Centre to him. Considering everything that was going on around him, maybe it was only human. Things had been a little crazy lately so it wasn't that big of a wonder when you though of it. He was a human being, after all.

Jarod took a sip of his hot chocolate before placing the mug onto the table right beside his laptop. He was staring the screen intensely, hitting the keyboard with his fingers as the words floated out, surfing from one site to another, searching through every single database he could locate trying to find something that would help him, but there was nothing new. Nothing that would answer the questions he had already asked dozens of times before. It was somewhat obvious that the Centre really had no information about his mother whatsoever and if they did, it wasn't on their software. There was just no place left where they could've hidden it! Either they didn't know anything or all the information was on paper but neither one of those options pleased him. Going back to the Centre on his own was actually easier than one believed, but now that he had someone else besides himself to look after, he couldn't take the risk of getting caught. Not now and not ever again.

Beaten, Jarod closed the laptop and emptied the mug with one final gulp. The hot fluid burnt his tongue and throat while going down, but he didn't let it bother himself. He was too damn tired to even feel the pain, to pretend feeling it. Maybe things would sort themselves out while he got some sleep, yes? If not, which he rather cynically assumed to be the outcome of his hopeless wish, he would still have better chances of finding out the missing links after few hours of sleep. Not to mention connecting them back together.

0000

Unlike usually, this time Miss Parker didn't violently kick the door open yelling her prey to stay still. She figured that a more _considerate_ way of approaching was needed by the current occasion. Careful not to make a single sound; not even a one lousy creak that could wake up her target, she slowly pushed the door open and slid into the room. It was so dark that she actually had to stay still for a few minutes and hold her breath while waiting her eyes to adjust into the sudden switch of lighting. She could hear his breathing even though she couldn't quite locate him yet.

_There._ Lying in the big bed there was a figure under the covers. He didn't snore, but his breathing was fast and heavy, almost as if he was seeing a nightmare. Once she was sure there were no obstacles on her way, she aimed her gun and crept closer and closer to see if the person really was who she thought it was.

Jarod._Damn I'm good,_ she thought suffocating the satisfied laugh trying to escape from her lips. She saw the familiar brown hair, the strong line of his chin… the pained expression on his face. Weird. She sure as hell didn't seem to be the only one with haunting dreams, but then again, knowing Jarod's past it was no wonder. _Better get this over with._

The man was still deep asleep. She had actually thought he would wake up, but for her fortunate, he obviously hadn't. Yeah, a real genius indeed. She kept walking closer and stopped only when her legs touched the edge of the bed. For a moment she just observed him, trying to decide how to go on from there. What the hell would she say to him if he did wake up now? What the hell would she say to him at all? Miss Parker had no clue, she hadn't really thought of it yet. She felt like shrugging casually, but was afraid it might miraculously wake him up… Well, improvising was her thing… hopefully.

Silently she leaned closer to him only to place her gun on the nightstand. _Jesus, I can't believe I'm actually doing this. _The bed jolted softly as she lowered herself on it. When he suddenly fidgeted in his sleep, she froze holding her breath. When she was sure everything was ok, she was ready to go on. The final move; she placed her hands on his both sides trapping the man between his arms, careful not to touch him.

"Boo!"

It was hardly more than a whisper, but his eyes blinked open in shock as he rolled over to his back. She couldn't help but smirk at his confused state of mind. She had forgotten how good it felt to be the one in charge rather than let Jarod make a complete fool out of her.

"…Miss Parker?"

He didn't even try to move or push her away, which truth be told, surprised her. Was he in some kind of shock or did he think it was a dream? Hell, just what kind of dreams did he have if the latter option was the right one? She hoped the darkness prevented him from reading the look in her eyes.

"Still remember me, I see."

Jarod swallowed and exhaled the breath he had been holding since he second he opened his eyes. "Well, Parker, You're not that easy to forget", he replied. He swallowed again. Aha, he _was_ nervous! He really was! The great pretender had just given away his own feelings.

"Good to know." He was so close that she could smell his shower-fresh skin… and sense the warmth his body was radiating. _Maybe this kind of approach wasn't the smartest one, after all. _But it was too late to regret it now.

"You gonna share any time soon why you're in my bed, on top of me? Not that I didn't like it, I'm just not knowing what to think of it." Now he moved, but against Miss Parker's automatic assumption, he only reached his hand to turn on the lamp on the nightstand. At first his hand made a contact with the gun of course, but it quickly found it's way over the gun to the switch. Again, Miss Parker was surprised. Why hadn't he taken the gun when he obviously had felt it was there?

The switch clicked. The light made her turn her gaze into the opposite direction letting her hair brush over his face. He could feel his heart beat increasing, but the main reason for that was fear. She was going to take him back to the Centre, wasn't she? Why wasn't he in handcuffs already?

Deciding enough is enough, Miss Parker rolled over to her back so that she was lying next to the confused pretender. At some level she was as confused as he was. It was ok for one to like her job, it was just that she usually didn't. In fact, she never did. And now somewhere in the pit of her stomach she could feel something else than disgust; something else what she had thought she'd feel.

"Jarod…" She punctuated, knowing that a pause would emphasize her words just the way she wanted it to, "The Centre told me to take a hike, so to speak", she said without really meaning to. She managed to let out a frustrated, almost sarcastic laugh to express her aggravation. "I think I was getting too close to the truth about my mother." It wasn't a 100 lie, not after adding that one. He hadn't moved; Jarod was still lying on his back but his stare turned from the roof to the woman next to him.

"I don't believe you", he stated. How the hell had she got in? And how the hell had she even found out where he was! More importantly, how long was she going to play her games before the sweepers bolted in.

"I don't care whether or not you believe me. It's not going to change a damn thing." She sounded sincere, but Jarod knew better than to trust her. He could see her eyes even though she was staring the roof, obviously avoiding his inquiring gaze. Miss Parker wasn't sure why it had suddenly become so difficult to look at him. Surely her conscience hadn't woken up after all these years?

"And what would that thing be?" Miss Parker was obviously not continuing without being asked to.

"You're good with solving puzzles", she replied with the kind of tone that made Jarod frown. She sounded angry, but also desperate. "My mother, she's a puzzle I want you to solve." The words came so fluently that it amazed even herself. This wasn't what she had had in her mind, well, in fact she had had nothing in her mind, but this… using her mother to get Jarod's trust… "In exchange for the truth Jarod, I'm offering you my help."

_I__need to know what happened to her,_ she reminded herself searching for some sense of self-control within her.

Now it was Jarod who let out a sarcastic laugh. Sarcasm… Jarod had definitely changed during his years in the real world. The little boy she had known and cared about had been unaware of such things. He had known what it meant, but he had never really felt it. Pretended to feel maybe, but it wasn't the same thing.

"And you honestly think I'm going to fall for that?"

Slowly Miss Parker turned to look him in the eye. The message was clear. "Just give me few days", she started, "and I'll make you fall."

The question in his mind as he watched her wipe away the lonely tears from the corners of her eyes was if it really was a trap more than anything else that he was supposed to fall in? At that moment, for the first time, he really couldn't tell.


	4. CHAPTER 3 trusting issues

**A/N:** I could say it in Japanese, but since I don't speak Japanese unlike Miss Parker, I won't.Thank you so much for the reviews! A simple truth is that even though I do not behave like a spoiled kid when I don't get reviews and refuse to post another chapter before I get them (heh), they have the ability to make me want to write (hint, hint). Meep.

As I've been going through the timeline, I came to the conclusion that the fic vaguely takes place during the Inner Sense (part 1) just after Jarod and his father rescued Emily from the sweeper team. We'll see if I'll be able to pull it through, won't we? For thinking errors, I'm sorry.

**Disclaimer:** My back hurts. Anyway. Not mine. Someone else, not me, created the wicked show and the wicked characters and I'm just having some wicked fun with them. Wicked, ain't it?

Oh and please, someone tell me if there's any good Pretender fan fic sites out there anymore? I just can't find them. All gone. Sniff.

By the way, from now on this fic (and all my other creations) can also be found in livejournal under the name 'savysavestheday' in case you're interested.

**When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who'**

by Syrai 

Chapter 3 – trusting issues

Why did everything have to be so damn complicated?

She had no answer to that question nor did she have answer to any other question she had been asking lately. Miss Parker couldn't stop thinking about her mother and her empty grave as it had turned out. Just before her father had given her these new, _idiotic _orders that no doubt were only made to keep the prying girl busy, she had confronted Mr. Raines telling him that her mother's body in fact was missing. As she had assumed, Raines had swallowed the bait and lead her one step closer to the hidden truth. They had followed him to a house in the woods with Broots, where Raines had burnt some papers alongside with other _stuff_, obviously not wanting anyone to see them. After he had left, they had managed to safe some of the papers but to her none of them seemed important. A drawing made by some boy called Ethan – Christ, what on earth did that have to do with anything?

She had actually been about to leave already when Broots had found something rather important. A few DSA (Digital Simulation Archive) disks on which the Centre had recorded Jarod's every simulation, every minute in the Centre. But it wasn't all they had found… there had also been a St. Christopher medal that for some unknown reason had been wrapped into a paper with 'Confidential – Mirage' written on it. Strangely, around every corner she seemed to find the Mirage, but never what it was.

Although she was grateful for Raines' little blunder, she couldn't help but feel mockery towards the man. With such a careless character, how was it that he had been able to stay in the Centre for that long? How the hell had he stayed alive?

Beats me.

Before she had had the chance to see what was on those DSA's that they had taken with them, she had been sent away, of course, and now the question burned her mind. If only she could send a message to Broots and ask if he had found out anything without risking her mission. But she couldn't. For her luck, she knew Broots was a lot smarter than people really thought, but at the same time she was worried about him. Well, no, not about him directly but about him revealing it to Sidney whatever it was that he had found out, if anything. For some ridiculous reason doctor _Freud_ had been trying to make her leave this case alone, as if she could live with herself if she did that. It was her mother they were talking about for crying out loud!

"Dad? What are you saying?" Jarod's questioning, confused voice got her to look at his direction with raised eyebrows. What was Major Charles saying then? He, the runaway pretender, was standing in the bathroom, holding a phone against his ear and the only thing Miss Parker could see was his bare back. All he had bothered to put on after jumping out of the bed and rushing to his cell-phone, was his jeans.

Something clacked against the bed making a metallic sound. Oh yeah, getting half-dressed wasn't the only thing Jarod had bothered to do before making his phone call. No, no. She should've had seen it coming, really. He had reached his hand to her waist, but only to pull out her handcuffs from the back of her black trousers to use them against her. Now, as humiliating as it was, she had been handcuffed to the bed with her own damned handcuffs that were too tight and were hurting her wrists. Well, she couldn't blame him for not trusting her. They were the same handcuffs she had used on him so many times that she had lost count already… and well, it wasn't the first time he had _kindly _returned the favor.

_Damnit, Jarod, come back here!_ Miss Parker tried to focused on his voice but couldn't really hear what he was saying. He was whispering again.

"Jarod!" She shrieked poisonously, "I'll scream if you don't get these things off right this minute!"

0000

"Sounds like you're busy there?" Major Charles noted, amused. Jarod frowned. What, did he honestly think he'd be having fun with another woman when there was Zoey to think about? By the sound of his amused tone of voice, he obviously did. Unlike Major Charles, Jarod on the other hand saw nothing funny about the situation. "Nah, it's nothing", he replied glancing over his shoulder while lifting his index finger up to his lips signaling Miss Parker to stay silent. For that, he received a deadly glare. "Miss Parker here just decided to pay me a visit." Alright, on second thought, it was sort of amusing to see her there completely defenseless.

"What! They found you?" His father breathed in panicking. My God… Now that he had found his son again, he couldn't bear the thought of the Centre catching him and taking him away all over again. "No, calm down, not they", Jarod gave a laugh, "only her."

"You alright?" He sounded relieved, but also suspicious. Even though Jarod probably didn't know it himself, Major Charles was more than aware of his son's soft spot. Nothing good could come out of that one.

"I'm fine", Jarod assured stepping out of the bathroom after turning the light off. As Miss Parker had said right before he had clapped the handcuffs around her wrists, the sweeper team hadn't showed up. Why hadn't they? He, however, didn't have time to ponder upon that mystery for long for his father cleared his throat impatiently. "You go after this _Ethan _and tell me if you find out anything. I'll make another round here and I'll come back if I hit a wall."

Jarod could see Miss Parker's head shooting up. Had he said something that had got her attention? "Ok son…" Major Charles agreed. It was pointless to argue when he very well knew Jarod would make his own decisions. He had got tired of people manipulating him, telling him what to do… now he didn't take it from anyone, not even from his father. There was something in the way Major Charles had spoken the agreeing words that made Jarod feel like there was something more he wanted to say. "Dad?"

"It's just that…" He paused not knowing how to put it, "I mean, what are you going to do with her? She's a royal pain in the ass if you ask me and I would just leave her there."

He was now leaning against the doorframe, staring at her with examining look in his eyes. That probably would have been for the best but… "I don't think I can do that. She's obviously here for a reason."

"Yeah", Miss Parker snarled, but strangely she didn't sound as hostile as usual, "and it has nothing to do with me being the one handcuffed." In fact, she didn't even look as hostile as she normally did. Another frown wrinkled his forehead. Actually, the way she had said that sentence alone… it brought a very different image into his mind. There was a challenge in her eyes, that much he knew for sure, but this time it had nothing to do with the usual mouse-cat game…

What the hell was going on?

"Well do what you want, Jarod, but remember one thing. She isn't her mother, she's a real Parker."

_Was she?_ "I don't know about that, dad."

"Don't let her mess up your head, you hear me, son? She'll stab you in the back the minute you let your guard down, so don't."

0000

Holy cow.

Holy cow.

Holy cow.

"Holy cow…" It was the only phrase that Broots had been able to repeat for the passed hour or so. He kept rewinding the same DSA disk over and over again and every time the familiar figure appeared on his screen, the same curse hit the air.

At first he hadn't realized what was wrong with the short scene that the disk had revealed. He had seen camera footage about Miss Parker's mother before, it wasn't that unusual, but when his eyes had met the date of the record… it was the date that had nearly caused him a heart attack. If Catherine Parker had been killed in April 1970… how was it that the date of the record said June, months after her assumed death?

Broots rubbed his neck, confused.

Did this mean that Catherine Parker had not died in the elevator as they had thought? _Man… What the hell am I supposed to tell Miss P?_ Was this why they had suddenly decided to send her away? So that she wouldn't start asking questions about what really had happened in that elevator?

"So you found out about her." It was Sidney's saddened voice that startled him making the man jump onto his feet. Had Sidney just hinted that… "Y-you knew she didn't… didn't die that day?"

Sidney didn't even look away as he announced his reply. "Yes."

"But… but…" It didn't make sense. No matter how you looked at it, it was crazy. No way in hell Sidney could have known something like, well, _this_ and still kept it as a secret. No, no, he wouldn't have had let Miss Parker go through all that pain during these years. Broots had seen the way Sidney looked at her whenever it was the anniversary of her mother's death… He had seen the pain in the old man's eyes every time she had gone to sit on her grave, to speak to her mother. Wait, had that pain been caused only by his crying conscience? Unbelievable. All this time he had said how he wished he could erase her agony, but yet he hadn't told her the one thing that could have had actually done it? Something just wasn't right.

"Does this mean you know what the Mirage is?"

Sidney shook his head. Through all these years he had hoped Miss Parker would never come across with the truth about her mother… but at the same time, he had always wished she would. There was so much Catherine in her daughter… he saw it every time he looked her in the eye. If only he could have shown it to her; things could've been different now. Somewhere in the past, she had picked the wrong path to follow ignoring everything he had tried to teach her. Although, he couldn't deny the fact it was probably that path that had kept her alive.

"No, she never told me what it was about", he answered finally stroking his chin, "I was only trying to protect Miss Parker and honor her mother's wishes." It was the truth as he knew it. He had been Catherine's trusted friend as much as he had been her doctor and when she had made him swore he'd never tell the truth about her death to her daughter, he had decided to go with her pleading.

Sidney's words gave Broots the creeps. "You talk like you'd know she's dead, Sidney." At this point, it wouldn't have surprised him if he did. On whose side was he!

"I have no way of knowing that", Sidney replied in his usual husky tone, "but…" The look in his eyes passed the message on and Broots caught it easily. "It _is_ the Centre we're talking about, right?"

Sidney only nodded. Exactly so.


	5. CHAPTER 4 life lessons to learn

**A/N:** Well. Hope you're still both following and enjoying, hee. As you may have noticed, I'm bringing the happenings of the final episodes into the picture just to make it more fun (for who? Me? Eh), though it also means that if you haven't seen the final, you may not understand everything. If you don't like the way it's coming out (as I'm obviously twisting and playing with the "real" timeline), feel free to complain, but unless you don't have anything else than 'you suck' to say, don't expect me to take it seriously. Heh, been there, done that.

**Thank you so much **for all the lovely reviews! All the authors out there probably know how much they mean to me, because they're really kicking my muse's butt, so to speak. So, reviews… mmmm… they keep the chapters coming (although I can't promise I'll remain this quick with the updates. It's called life, actually no, it's called "school." More precisely, "summer vacation ending and my senior year starting in few weeks." Darn it!), alright?… My author notes are probably longer than my whole fic together. Oh well.

**Disclaimer:** Really, if I did own the show and the delicious characters, you think I would've shared Miss Parker or Jarod (or Lyle) with rest of the world? I think not.

**When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who'**

by Syrai 

Chapter 4 – life lessons to learn

"God, I hate this song! Jarod, turn it off! You could've just blindfolded me, you idiot!"

Jarod detached his stare from the driveway in front of him to quickly glance over his shoulder. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to look there even though he knew he couldn't see the pouting woman. The only thing that gave away her unseen presence was her brown suitcase, which they had picked up from the hotel's reception as he checked out, on the backseat. There was a very simple reason for that one, of course. To Miss Parker he had said it was because he didn't trust her and her motives, but it wasn't really about that. He cared about her in some twisted way; always had, but he had never trusted her and that was nothing new.

"Goddamnit, Jarod!"

She was in the trunk, naturally. Why? It was just more fun this way. After everything Miss Parker had put him through, he deserved to have some fun! That was the excuse he kept repeating in his head whenever he felt bad for her. Why the hell would he have to feel bad for her?

A very Jarod-alike grin spread over his lips and behind his black shades, there was a familiar twinkle in his eyes. The kind which usually told he had come up with a plan so the-Centre-proof that not even Broots could have messed it up. Only this time, he hadn't come up with anything… Enjoyment… maybe he enjoyed a bit too much, fine, but there was nothing wrong with that. _Nothing at all._

"Oh don't be a mood-spoiler, Miss Parker. Who doesn't love 'A total Eclipse of the Heart?" He shouted his question with laughter in his voice, although she probably would have heard his comment without raised voice. Jarod couldn't prevent the laughter, but he silenced it so that she didn't hear him laughing at her misery.

"I don't!" She growled through gritted teeth. Jarod was certainly getting on her nerves. Truth be told, she did like the song, but not when she was locked into someone's hot, dark and small trunk with handcuffs around her wrists and a goddamn shovel pressed against her thigh. She tried to kick it farther away, but only managed to hit her knee painfully to the steely top of her little prison. _Shit! _She swallowed the tears the pain caused. Argh, it couldn't get any worse than this! "It's been hours, Jarod, it's really starting to feel damn uncomfortable in here!" She started, "why don't we change places, huh? I'm sure you'd be better with pretending it's all comfy and nice in here!" _Oh yeah, good one Parker, insult him some more and he'll surely let you out of here!_

As she had thought, the comment didn't amuse him like all the others she had spat out had during their drive. She didn't see his face, but the tensed silence told it very clearly. This time it was more… personal somehow. This particular remark made him remember _why_ he could never let himself trust her – ever. Nothing could change the fact he really was a pretender. Nothing could change the fact she was the one who wanted nothing more than to bring him back to where "he belonged", either. _No, that's not completely right, _he bitterly corrected in his mind, _the truth about Catherine goes even above me._

"…Hopefully." It was a whisper she didn't hear and wasn't even meant to. Only now the situation was starting to draw itself into his mind; into his consciousness. It felt surreal. Did he really have Miss Parker, _the_ Miss Parker in his trunk and was he really driving towards St. Catherine Church where his sister was? No, he had to come up with something else. Bringing Miss Parker into the same city was bad enough, but he couldn't risk showing her where his family was. In case Miss Parker did betray him, as he assumed she would do at some point, there'd at least be time for Major Charles and Emily to escape. So, he'd have to find some other place to stay for now, wouldn't he?

"Jarod!" A shrieking whine caught his attention. "You know, Miss Parker, time would pass more quickly if you only-"

"NO!" She knew what he was going to say; they had had the same conversation every 15 minutes and she was getting more and more pissed of every time he opened his mouth and mentioned it again. The icy blue eyes stared into the darkness as she opened her mouth to speak; "I'm not listing _stupid_ animals starting with a _stupid _A! I'm not playing that _stupid_ game with you, _stupid!_"

He laughed out loud. Boy, she really was in a bad mood, wasn't she? No doubt she'd make him pay for that one, though. _Let her try._

"What, you rather list things starting with 's' then?"

All he could hear after that one was her screaming from the top of her lungs.

His eyebrows rose questioningly. "No?"

0000

Emily had woken up again, but only for few quickly passing minutes during which she had only muttered few words that at first hadn't made sense at all. Major Charles wasn't entirely sure if the girl had been delirious or what it was about, but nevertheless he had decided to check out the clue she had told him to follow. For one, Emily had dedicated her life to finding her family and this young man… well, he shrugged, if Emily thought it was important then it probably was.

_Ethan._ That was the name Emily had called out.

Normally Major Charles would have had waited for his son to return, but something told him Jarod wouldn't be coming alone… If the foolish boy really had taken his own hunter with him as he suspected, he figured it was better for him to check the clue on his own without letting Miss Parker interfere. With that, his thoughts returned to the matter at hand. The name and an address weren't the only things Emily had given him. She had whispered the word "NuGenesis" and written down a row of numbers… AA8585. NuGenesis, the fertility clinic and former adoption agency, that had claimed to _help _Major Charles and his wife had turned out to be the Centre's little puppet. The only thing they were after were new pretenders.

Even though, maybe he should've had waited for Jarod to come back… not that it made any difference anymore now that he was already heading towards the address Emily had given. Originally he had planned to hack into the NuGenesis database first, but when it had turned out to be a little bit more difficult than he had expected it to, he had decided to go check the place out. Maybe Jarod would succeed better, he was the smarter one after all.

0000

It was a cheap one-hour motel where Jarod in the end decided to check in with Miss Parker for few hours. Mainly, because he assumed it to be the kind of place from where the sweepers would look only if the occasion really called for it and well, it didn't. Usually he left a trail of clues behind him for Miss Parker and her co-workers to follow. This time it quite obviously wasn't needed and if he had done everything right, there was no way they could find out their location. She wasn't carrying any trackers, he knew it. It was the first thing he had checked after getting a hold of the right kind of equipment. The keyword was 'connections' – it was how and why he had managed to escape from Miss Parker so many times.

Jarod inserted the key to the lock and twisted it. After the somewhat loud click, he opened the door and let Miss Parker enter the room first. Just one glance around the room and she already snorted, dissatisfied. "Oh great, Jarod, this really tells how highly you think of me."

Jarod hid the smile with a serious face. Yes, then there was the simple fact that he knew a tasteless and tacky place like this one, with tapping water sinks and dirty toilets, was just what he needed to annoy Miss Parker further. He almost felt guilty for having so much unneeded fun on her expense, but just almost. There was something very intoxicating in knowing he was the one who called the shots, not her. In some ways, it had always been him in control of course, letting them find out his whereabouts and so on, but unlikely usually, this time Miss Parker couldn't deny it. Even if she did have her own hidden agenda, she had been forced to admit that Jarod was the one holding the strings for now instead of her.

Miss Parker took a step closer to the center of the room, stopped dropping her suitcase on the floor and turned around on her heels few times with her hands spread open.

"With the kind of amount of money you've stolen from us, Jarod, I at least thought you'd have it in you to pick a little bit better place than this one."

Only now he shut the door locking it and obviously ignoring her nasty comment. Miss Parker followed his every move, but still she couldn't tell where he had put the key. _Damn magician._

"If you want to take shower or…" He glanced around the room hesitating, "something, then go ahead. But so you know, you're going back to being handcuffed right after. I need some rest and I can't sleep if I have to worry over you suffocating me with something."

"Fine", she spat with a crushed ego and bent down to grab the suitcase into her hands again. Looking at Jarod's content grin was making her feel sick. This was _not_ how things had been supposed to go forward. Why exactly hadn't she tried to seduce him in that hotel room? The only excuse she could make for herself was that if she had jumped on him like that, he would've had known something was wrong. _Have to be smarter than that, Parker._

Patience is a virtue, huh? _It's a goddamn menace, that's what it is._

"I'll just get changed then", she continued coldly, "You should clean your trunk more often, it stinks in there."

"Not mine, as I'm sure you guessed", he said shrugging casually.

Not saying anything, Miss Parker lift her chin up defiantly, she spun around and marched into the bathroom. The door slammed shut with such force that for a second Jarod thought the mirror on the wall was coming down. Fortunately, it didn't. The next loud noise was caused by the suitcase being thrown on the floor.

"You know, Parker-" She immediately noticed he had dropped the 'Miss' "-you're really making it seem like I kidnapped you or something as evil as that. But as we both know, it was you who came to me and wanted my help, not the other way round."

True. "Yeah", she replied through the closed door, "but I didn't ask you to treat me like I was some…" Suddenly she couldn't finish the sentence… just what was she about to say? The confusion brought a frown onto her forehead and she had to lean against the door with one hand for support. The other one rose up to cover her mouth as if she had just realized something.

Damn you daddy.

That was it, Miss Parker decided to give her father a piece of her mind the next time they met. Screw the Triumvirate, screw the orders; what did they know about anything? What did _he,_ Jarod, know about anything? He only pretended to know. Still, she knew she couldn't abandon her orders… It was the only way of showing her father she was as tough as Lyle was. Only way to find out their big secret… Without meaning to, she whispered her last words again, "…Like I was some…"

"-meaningless study subject; a target, without any feelings at all?" Jarod helped cynically taking off his coat at the same time, "I know, doesn't feel that nice, does it?" The leather coat flew on the wooden chair next to the door. Miss Parker was finally starting to get it, wasn't she? Good, it was the whole point of it all. To bring back the young Miss Parker by showing her how he felt every day of his life. With every year passing by, she turned more and more alike her father and it was something Jarod hated. He had tried so hard to get her questioning the way she lived her life, but every time he thought he had made a progress, she crushed his wishes by some cold comment that proved him wrong. It was clear that after what had happened to Thomas, Miss Parker had locked herself inside her own little shell where things such as feelings couldn't hurt her. It was strange, really. She knew it was because of the Centre that Thomas had been murdered and yet she kept on clinging on them. Talking about denial, huh?

Slowly he walked to the bed and sat down, exhausted. A relieved sigh broke off as he felt his tensed body relax a bit. The mattress underneath him didn't feel particularly nice or good, but it served its duties. He had slept on worse, so. Closing his eyes, Jarod kicked off his shoes and allowed his body to meet the lumpy bed… He knew it was dangerous to play like that, he might fall asleep but still, he couldn't force himself to open his eyes.

The last thing he heard, was the shower being turned on. If he hadn't drifted into deep sleep that fast, he also would've had heard Miss Parker's quiet sobs that she, as always, tried to hide under the running water.

0000

"Daddy, what are you doing?" It was Debbie's faint voice coming from the living-room that caught Broots attention and gave an end to his pacing. He stopped, but only for a minute.

"Nothing honey, there's just lots on my mind right now." Lots? That was an understatement of the year. "You go to bed, I'll come tuck you in in a sec, ok?"

He heard her footsteps first, then her reply; "Ok."

He started walking again, one hand on his hip, other one pressed against his forehead. Moving was what usually helped him solve his twisted thoughts and untie the knots. Because of that, he had been walking in circles in his kitchen for half an hour already, ever since he had got home. Debbie had asked him to play something with her, but he just couldn't stop. There was so much on his mind right now, so much to worry about.

Like, where the hell was Miss Parker? Things were so much clearer when she was around. He wasn't sure why, but the cold woman had the habit of straightening things up one way or another. She would've known what to do next and the whole issue being her mother, she had the rights to tell what to do next, too.

The thing was, Broots had just discovered just _how_ Sidney had known about Catherine Parker's faked death; she had told him straight to his face. Unbelievable, really. Sidney had shown him a DSA of their last meeting; something that Miss Parker would have undoubtedly wanted to see too. It was during their last so called appointment that Catherine had told him it was the only way for her to live a little big longer because someone she loved planned to kill her. Who!

On the record, she said she was going to be killed for being part of the famous, but unknown 'Mirage' but refused to tell Sidney what it was about. That of course was a shame. She had made him promise he'd never tell the truth about their family tragedy to her daughter and being a doctor; therapist and also her dear friend, he had felt it was his duty to honor her wishes. So, he swore to keep her big secret to himself and gave her his St Christopher medal – the same one Broots and Miss Parker had found. To keep her safe and to bring her luck.

Through all these years Sidney had kept something like that from both Broots and Miss Parker. It didn't really matter to him, but it surely did matter to Miss Parker and now she wasn't even there to hear it. Wherever she was, she was completely unaware of the fact her mother… his pace quickened… might still be alive.


	6. CHAPTER 5 puzzles undone

**A/N: **Thank you for those who read and reviewed the last chapter, and of course, the chapters before that one. If you keep reviewing, I can promise I'll keep writing. Why? Because they make me write.

**Disclaimer:** That's right. Yes. I agree.

**When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who'**

by Syrai 

Chapter 5 – puzzles undone

Jarod wasn't sure what it was that had woken him up, but the minute he felt his consciousness returning him he realized what had happened. Had he…? Yes. He had fallen asleep! "Shit!" It wasn't like him to swear out loud like that, but the curse hadn't asked his permission. Slowly, almost unwillingly, he sat upright and opened his eyes fearing what the present would bring into his awakening. What he saw, however, was not what he expected to see.

Miss Parker.

Not only, was it Miss Parker, but she was also sleeping in the bed next to him on her stomach and wearing nothing but a loose white T-shirt and black panties with it. He knew this by only looking at her figure. The blanket that she had trapped between her legs revealed a one beautifully shaped and very bare leg that told it all. He swallowed hard, not knowing what else to do than to massage his aching neck trying to make the pain disappear and to get something else to think about.

Carefully he lowered himself back on the bed, but this time he pushed himself upwards so that his legs weren't hanging over the edge anymore. As quietly as possible, he rolled onto his side facing Miss Parker's closed eyelids. The one word his mind couldn't block out was… beautiful. From the day he had met her, he had always thought she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen and through it all, it had never changed. Well, she was the first female he had ever seen so maybe it wasn't that strange at all, right? Plus, she was his first love.

Her breathing was steady, relaxed even. It felt good to know she was okay, even if it was just in her dreams. The line of her mouth had twisted into a vague smile making her seem somehow angelic, innocent. Completely opposite of the Miss Parker she pretended to be day after day. This was how he wanted to see her; this was why he had sent Thomas to her.

When his hand reached closer to guide the fallen lock of hair from her cheek, her eyes snapped open.

0000

"We need to contact Miss Parker", Broots said with wide, shocked eyes after the record ended. It was the next day and he had managed to reconstruct more of the DSA they had found with Miss Parker. Sidney, who was standing behind him didn't know what to say or do, so he just kept staring the blackened screen pensively. Hands behind his back, he wondered if Broots really was right. At first he had thought Miss Parker should drop the case for her own protection, but now things had gotten yet a new twist. This was something even he hadn't known. Also, it was something she deserved to know.

"I know. But I don't see how we could do that", Sidney answered. A twinge of guilt hit him painfully; it wasn't completely true, was it? No. Being Jarod's sort of father-figure, the pretender often called him and they had exchanged emails quite often without the Centre knowing about it, so if he really wanted to, he could pass a word to Miss Parker through Jarod… but did he really want to? Should he?

A fact was, Catherine Parker had met Jarod. That was what they had just seen on the DSA and there was no denying that. Jarod outside the Centre, which alone had surprised Sidney, but also Catherine Parker telling Jarod that… he was going to have a brother. That was even bigger shock, of course. It was more than easy to see Catherine was pregnant, but the question was… how? How could it be possible that the baby she was carrying was Jarod's brother?

… And more importantly, what was it that Catherine had told Jarod after shutting down the camera? Why had Jarod never mentioned it? She had said that there was something Jarod had to remember. Something that he had to tell her daughter. What was it?

Nothing was making sense.

"Don't see how? Please, Sidney." Broots rolled his eyes snorting sarcastically. "I know about those emails and we all know about those calls you receive…" Suddenly the proud look on his face changed into his normal insecure expression, "By all I-I mean myself… Anyway, you could… could you know…"

Sidney gave the stuttering man an equally sarcastic look that which he had received a moment ago. "Oh, ask him to pass the phone to Miss Parker? You do realize that the mission means a lot to Miss Parker and if I did that, he'd know that we know she's there."

Broots knew that. But he also knew what Miss Parker would do to him if she found out they hadn't contacted her and told her what was going on. Quite frankly, Broots knew more than well which one scared him more.

"Well the next time the wonder-boy calls, can't you just like, hint him? Tell him what we've found and he'll hopefully tell her. Who knows, he might actually help…" He stopped when Sidney's eyes narrowed questioningly. "Well he has a history with helping us, don't you think?"

Sidney couldn't deny that and honestly, didn't even want to. Broots was absolutely right. Jarod was a lot of things, but a bad person wasn't one of them. If he could, he would help them no matter what it cost because it was just the way he was. The point was, Sidney wasn't sure if he wanted to risk Jarod like that.

"What do you think hewould do, Broots?" Sidney asked, though the answer was perfectly clear to both of them. Broots answered anyway. "For starters, he could maybe tell us what it was that Catherine told him."

"Why do you think he'd do that?"

Broots shrugged. Sidney was obviously testing him for some reason. "It's Jarod", he said, "Why wouldn't he?"

It was just what Sidney had wanted to hear.

0000

The hand was withdrawn immediately. Miss Parker blinked, once. "I'm sorry", she heard him saying, but couldn't bring herself to answer anything. He looked hurt, but she couldn't understand why. What rights did _he_ have to feel hurt and insecure when it was her that had woke up with a _stranger_ touching her cheek? "I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine", she forced the words out, "just never do it again." It was a command, but spoken with too soft and vulnerable voice to actually sound like one. She closed her eyes and breathed out, before she was able to open them again and face Jarod's eyes. She was afraid he'd see through the surface; feel what she was feeling. _Thomas…_ She had thought it was Thomas and by opening her eyes she had been forced to meet the cold reality.

Watching her pained eyes was too much for him to handle and so he broke the eye-contact by sitting up. Clearing his throat to earn an extra second or two to think, he rubbed his eyes with one hand. How had he let himself end up into this kind of situation? "We should go", he said after a moment. Things were getting more complicated than he wanted them to.

She swallowed the tears down. Gods, what the hell was the matter with her?

"Where we going?" She asked, but sat up only after Jarod had got up and moved to stand into the center of the small room. He didn't answer right away. Something was definitely wrong, she could feel it. "Parker… I'm giving you a chance."

He was doing what? Miss Parker tilted hear head to one side, confused. Letting go of the blanket she was holding on her chest, she asked: "To do what?"

Jarod shook his head. What a silly girl. "To get out", he answered and glanced at her over his shoulder. She had never seen him like that, ever. She had caught him few times even if only for a little while, but not once had he looked so defeat; so tired. "You can go if you want, I won't stop you", he said, "but if you go I'll go find my dad and sister and we're out of here. If you stay, I'll take you to them."

Miss Parker drew a breath frowning. What had just happened? What had she missed? "Why… why would you trust me?" …And why didn't she want to go? It wasn't just about the mission anymore, but it wasn't just about her mother either.

Now he turned around facing her completely. The usual smile was back on his lips, although there was something extremely faked and unreal about it. "I still don't, Parker, but I'd like to. I owe it to your mother for everything she did."

She didn't know what to say. What can you say to something like that? Thank him? No way in hell!

"We're going to solve this thing right now", he continued speaking and crossed his arms, but Miss Parker got the feeling he was more like talking to himself than to her. It was how Jarod had always sorted out his disoriented thoughts. "We're going to find out what happened to your mother and just who this _Ethan_ is and-"

"Oh right, Ethan", Miss Parker remembered cutting off his mumbling. Damnit, she had completely forgotten about Jarod's phone-call with his father. He had said the name 'Ethan', the same name that had been written on those drawings they had found with Broots and now that seemed a bit bizarre. Without further thinking, she decided to share her information with the pretender. "We found something with Broots… we followed Raines to some place in the middle of nowhere and we watched him burn something… there were all kinds of stuff, also drawings made by someone called Ethan… It might be coincidence, of course."

It could, yes, but they both doubted it. With Centre, there were no coincidences. Everything happened for a reason, no matter how disgusting that reason was. Everything was thought out… which made Jarod wonder if Miss Parker's appearing had been one too. But as hard as he might try, he couldn't figure out why they would have sent her there? Hardly to observe him, so why then?

"Get dressed", he ordered with determined voice, "this puzzle gets solved once and for good."


	7. CHAPTER 6 one way or another

**A/N:** That's it, I moved out into my very own place which means I can write again. Wohooo! Though, as I'm writing this, I don't have internet so there goes me updating… anyway. Hopefully I can concentrate on writing this before school starts… after that it's gonna be a bit trickier. At least I won't have mom breathing on my neck, right? Forgive me on slow and short updates, will you? It's a matter of time, really.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, but I don't know why. Oh, no, wait, maybe because I didn't create the show and its characters? Might be that, yeah.

**When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who'**

by Syrai

**Chapter 6 – one way or another**

Accomplishing the mission, well, it had turned out to be a little bit more difficult than Miss Parker had anticipated it to be. No, actually, that was a big fat lie. From the beginning she had known how unbelievably problematic it would be, Jarod being a goddamn genius and all, but few days ago she had had something she didn't have anymore.

Trust.

Whereas two days ago she had _trusted_ herself to be able to do what she had been ordered to do, now she wasn't so sure about it anymore. Why? What had happened? She told herself, over and over again that it had nothing to do with Jarod personally. It was about her mother. It was her need to know what had really happened to her mother that kept her from wanting to accomplish the mission anytime soon. But if she didn't get on with it, Jarod might actually figure out the real reason for her acting the way she did. In that case, the game would be over even before it really started and she would no doubt be sent back to the Centre in a goddamn box. No, Jarod would've been meaner. He would of course send her to some unknown part of Africa instead and call the Centre leaving a clue. A goddamn clue.

She snorted. _This will most certainly not end up like that if I have anything to say on the case here._

Did she really have a chance? And if yes, then what was it that she was supposed to do? The question to be answered was something like; how to go forward from the situation she had driven herself into?

Actually, to correct that fact, she hadn't driven herself into any kind of situation, now had she? No. Her father had; the Centre had. It was always the Centre. As usual, it was just her job to solve their issues and do the dirty work for them. Why the hell did she keep doing it?

_I can't wait anymore. I need to get this done,_ Miss Parker thought to herself. It had to be done before she would lose her mind and go all Angelo. After stretching her arms, she rolled to her side. The sun had already come up, she knew it but didn't bother standing up and going to the window to open the curtains. She liked the cozy darkness. Besides, she knew what she would see anyway, a parking-lot of a 1 star motel. Or more like half of a star. Well, at least it wasn't the dirty one-hour motel anymore – they had spent the whole night driving and when they had finally reached their destination, Miss Parker had realized that for hours Jarod been driving through circuitous routes. She had been so mad at him, but hadn't said a word. She still couldn't figure out why Jarod had gone through all that trouble. Had he needed time to think? To decide whether or not he really was going to take Miss Parker into the same city where her sister was? She didn't know where exactly Emily was, but she knew now the name of the city and if she had wanted, she could have summoned the Centre within less than 15 minutes. So yes, maybe it was natural for Jarod to hesitate.

He had told her what Lyle had done to his sister. Even if Miss Parker had wanted to call the Centre… she couldn't have done it. Why? She had done many sins during her years, but pushing young girls through windows was a sin she had yet to execute. Not a day went by without Miss Parker wishing that someone would notice there had been a mistake and it was Angelo that was her brother, not Lyle, but after what Jarod told her… she was ready to go fake those reports herself. She possibly couldn't have been more disgusted by her own brother; the Asian-girl-eating-cannibal had really crossed the line.

Exhaling, Miss Parker glanced at the empty side of the bed. The bed had been made and it seemed like no one had even slept on it, but Miss Parker could still smell his scent. He had offered to sleep on the small, uncomfortable looking couch but she had rejected his words with a wave of hand. Her plan would never go forward if she kept pushing him away, right?

Again, she had had the most perfect chance and what had she done? Blew it. Slept like a baby. The minute Jarod had sat down on the bed, she had fallen asleep. She had seen a dream too, but she couldn't remember it anymore. A peaceful dream, beautiful one. She had woken up only to see Jarod pulling on his shirt. He had only told her to go back to sleep.

He had left even before the sun had come up but hadn't said where. She hadn't asked, either.

Suddenly Miss Parker's peaceful moment was interrupted. She heard a noise.

Sitting up startled, she frowned not understanding what it was that had cut her train of thoughts. Wait a minute, was that a cell-phone she heard?

Yes!

That was when her body suddenly came to life and she jumped out of the bed diving into the direction from where she thought the sound was coming. Going through Jarod's things that were lying on the floor and throwing his clothes over her shoulder, she cursed quietly. Why the hell had he today of all days left his clean clothes as a pile on the floor when he normally kept such a good care of them? It was Jarod's suitcase from where she finally found the ringing cell-phone and without thinking twice, she picked up the phone answering it.

"What?" Considering it wasn't her own phone, maybe she should had used a different tone. Nah, who cared? She didn't and Jarod wasn't there to hear it, so at the moment, neither did he.

"Miss Parker?"

A cynical smile greeted Miss Parker's lips as she sat back on the floor leaning against the bed. _I'll be damned. _"Sidney", she spoke shaking her head while her fingers raked through the messy hair wiping them off her face. My, my, why wasn't she surprised to hear his voice, huh?

"Should've known it's you." Her voice was as cold as always, "Who else would call the wonder-boy?"

"Miss Parker, are you alright? Is Jarod there?" Sidney sounded worried, which only pleased Miss Parker. Served him right, really. Although, she wasn't entirely sure if he was worried about her… or Jarod? Evil son of a bitch. Why was he calling anyway? To warn Jarod? That would've been so typical of him. Betraying bastard! If Sidney thought Miss Parker didn't know it was he who so often tipped Jarod off, he was wrong. She knew. She had just never really wanted to believe it.

And here it was, reality hitting her in the face with a cold smack. "I'm fine", she sighed closing her eyes. There was no point in fighting on the phone, was there? No matter how much she wanted to scream at him. "Jarod's out. I don't know where, but hey, you can leave a message if you want. I'll be sure to pass it to him. What will I write down? Beware, Jarod, Miss Parker is about the get knocked?"

She had tried to act civilized, yes, but she had also failed.

"There's no need for sarcasm, Miss Parker", Sidney chided with serious voice. Oh come on, there was always need for sarcasm!

"Fine. What do you want then? Exchange greetings with Jarod, perhaps?" She bit her bottom lip not to say anything more. It seemed, sarcasm was the only type of emotion she was able to feel at the moment.

"Trust me, Miss Parker, I wouldn't have given away your mission if it indeed had been Jarod picking up. I merely called him to ask if he possibly knows your location. Knowing Jarod, he would've probably told me you're with him."

Miss Parker frowned. Alright, sure she had wanted to speak with both Broots and Sidney too, but wasn't that a little bit too risky to call like that?

"What is it?" She questioned. There was something wrong, wasn't there? That was the only reason she could come up with.

"We have information about your mother. The kind of information Jarod would be interested in, too."

Her heart started racing wildly and she felt her hands sweating. It happened every time someone mentioned her mother like that. "Well tell me!"

Sidney, however, didn't. "I think we should meet."

Miss Parker growled, disappointed. Meet? After all these years the old shrink was finally in need of some mental-vacation, wasn't he? Had to be.

"Don't be stupid, Sidney. If you know something, tell me. There's no way in hell Jarod will let me meet you."

Of course, Sidney had said the information would interested Jarod too. But could she really suggest something like that to Jarod, without blowing up her cover? Well, why not? Sidney and Broots had never accepted all the things Mr Parker, Raines and now Lyle did. If Sidney was the one to tell Jarod it was safe for them to meet… then maybe the pretender would believe it.

"Tell him to call me. Tell him the truth, Miss Parker", Sidney continued.

"The truth?" The frown grew deeper. He was obviously out of his damned mind.

"About this phone call I mean", he corrected, slightly amused, "not about the reason you're there."

Miss Parker wasn't quite satisfied. "Sidney, I will make you short on one particular body part if you don't tell me right now what is that you've discovered."

She could picture him smiling. He had heard those threats so many times already that they really didn't concern him anymore. "Goodbye Miss Parker."

The line went dead.

Oh no, he hadn't just hang up the phone on her, had he? Yes, he had! "Bastard!" Miss Parker snarled, throwing the phone towards the door in rather violent manner.

0000

He didn't have time for this, not now. Yet, he couldn't force his body to get up from the bench and go back to the motel where he knew Miss Parker would still be. How did he even know that? He wasn't sure, something just told him. So instead of getting up, he sat there on the bench, watching the familiar duck pond in front of him with a half eaten ice cream in his hand and tried to sort out his thoughts. It wasn't going that well.

Why did he feel so guilty? He had done nothing wrong, nothing that could've explained what was going on with him… If so, then why did he keep seeing Zoey's pained, blaming face every time he closed his eyes? And why did he feel as if he was doing something bad every time he laid his eyes on Miss Parker?

…Could it be that he was?

Zoey loved him, she had said so. She had told him that it didn't matter what he had been in his past… only the future mattered. Their future. She didn't care if he was being chased, not as long as she could run with him. Take care of him and support him. He had never wanted to put her in danger, he cared about her too much and so he had left her in the care of her family and kept on going alone. But he had gone back to her, because he had missed her too much. Now, wasn't that love?

He couldn't tell anymore. Jarod had never really known what love was, not before Zoey had come into the picture. He had thought it was love what he felt towards the wild-hearted redhead, but if it was love… then what were these feelings he suddenly had for Miss Parker?

No, that wasn't quite so. He had always had them, after all. But only few days ago, he had believed what he felt for Miss Parker was the kind of affection you feel towards your childhood friend; towards your close friend. She had been his friend once, hadn't she? Even if she wasn't that anymore, the memory remained unstained in his mind, in his heart.

… what was it that he felt?

"Stop this nonsense. You have more important things to worry about", he spat out suddenly and got up on his feet, deciding that whatever it was the he was feeling, was temporary. He threw the melting ice cream into the trash bin next to the bench and started walking.

0000

Mr. Lyle was annoyed, but also strangely pleased at the same time. Resting his exhausted body against the leather chair's back, he closed his eyes for a moment.

He had got used to the fact his plans were more or less ruined by his persistent and quite inquisitive twin sister that couldn't let things go, but for once, he felt she wasn't going to be the one to mess up his plans this time. Not if he had anything to say on it… Now it was time playing against him by every tick of the clock, not her.

Alongside with the fact he hadn't managed to kill Emily even though he sure had tried, it made him stress. Who could've guessed that after being thrown out of a window, the girl still stayed alive? Call it a willpower or luck, she wouldn't get away it twice. He still wanted another results and would get them, one way or another. He had to.

His father had been very clear on the issue. Emily had to be eliminated before she could tell Jarod about Mirage, about Ethan. But the question was, had she already told him? In that case, eliminating the girl would've been waste of time. He would have to go after Jarod, too. And unlike usually, this time his men would get the permission to shoot to kill.

Things had really managed to screw themselves up. He had thought Emily was dead – it was the only reason he had suggested to his father that they could send Miss Parker to Jarod now. They had talked about it earlier, about getting Miss Parker carry his child. For one, she wouldn't have been on their way during this critical time and they would get the baby with all its good genes and qualities. Also… it would create a bridge between Miss Parker and Jarod that even she could not burn behind her. And that would, no doubt, give them a chance to get Jarod. The baby. And Miss Parker's loyalty. She'd have no chance on the matter, of course. They'd take the baby and she would have no choice but to deal with it.

Only now, Emily hadn't died and Miss Parker had been sent on a mission that could cost the Centre a lot more than they afforded to lose. If Emily told Jarod… and Jarod told Miss Parker… she'd come after the Centre with such divine rage that... he would have to have his own sister eliminated. She wouldn't rest before reaching her goal and this time, there would be no power in the verse that could stop her. If she was alive, that was.

Mr. Lyle sighed. He wasn't completely cold in the heart, after all. He did care about his sister. She was a one hell of an opponent to have, and also fun to fight with. If only they had known about Emily _before_ sending his sister to Jarod.

But it was too late now. What had to be done now, was simply to deal with the consequences.

One way, or another.

0000

Jarod opened the motel's door, only to be greeted by a flying cell-phone that he almost didn't caught. It hit his stomach first, making him wince, before he could get a firm grip of it. The phone had obviously been thrown by Miss Parker, who for some unknown reason, was sitting on the floor beside the bed with his clothes and stuff lying around her… just what had she been doing there by herself?

"Wow, if I'd known you were planning on assassinating me, I wouldn't have come", he started closing the door, pulling her back from the reality she had been in. Taking his coat off and placing it on the chair by the door, he stopped to look at her. Was she ok?

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her chin to meet his face. As usual, there was that poisonous, defiant glare in her eyes he had seen so many times before. Looked like she was her old self again. "Well yes, if I'd known you were coming", she snapped, "I would've aimed."

He chuckled out loud and couldn't stop the smile reaching his lips. The woman surely hadn't lost her temper. If possible, it had only grown more and more fiery during her time in the Centre. That probably should've been a bad thing, but it wasn't. "So, what bad did my phone do to you?"

"Not your phone", she said with frustrated tone of voice, "Sidney."

… What?


	8. CHAPTER 7 running dry

**A/N:** Thank you for the butt-kicking! Reviews, yummie.

**Sirus183 & Mishelle** – Glad you liked!

**LJP –** Thank you for the review! Your questions will be answered… later. Mwuahaha! I've never ran into that fic as far as I can tell, but I just might go find it… if it's anywhere to be found that is. Because now I'm curious.

**Cari373 –** Hee, we'll see if they fall in love if at all, won't we? I'd be stoned if I did that, wouldn't I? Hehehe.

**GQlover2003 –** good that you understand, heh, I'll promise I'll try to write whenever I get the chance. Cross my heart or however it is said. Me not English. Nor American. Nor any other native English-blah-speaker. Hmm.

**HuntingPeace:** I'm trying, I'm trying, heh. Just for you guys.

**Redfive: **:blushes: What else can I say but thank you!

**When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who'**

by Syrai

Chapter 7 – running dry

"Oh boy, Sidney, Miss P is going to kill you for that one", Broots pointed out incredulously, not knowing whether to be highly amused or simply horrified. In fact, it seemed he was a bit of both in the lack of a better term. No one in his right mind talked to Miss Parker like Sidney had done not more than a minute ago, not if the poor person expected to live through the next time they'd meet. Of course, he had to admit that Sidney had always found a way to get under Miss Parker's skin, and no matter how many times he did it, Miss Parker always let it slip. You couldn't say she forgave him, it was more like she ignored it and let it go by as it had never happened. Was it because she found the man's presence consoling somehow? Was Sidney some kind of substitute father she had taken to herself whenever her real father disappointed the young girl? It was the only explanation reasonable enough.

"Isn't she always?" Sidney asked in turn, smiling and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Though the smile was there Broots could easily tell it wasn't coming from the heart. The old man was obviously worried, but for some reason, he found it better not to show it that clearly. The smile was only covering up whatever it was that was on his mind at the moment.

"I suppose", Broots replied, shrugging. He turned back to the screen of his computer and brought his fingers back to the keyboard. The break was over, time to get back to work then. Bummer. It would do no good for him to ask questions, but still… there was one that was so loud in his mind that it had to be asked. "You think he'll call you?"

Sidney gazed at the man narrowing his eyes the way he always did when he was thinking about something; pondering upon some mental problem. Tilting his head to one side, he folded his arms not answering right away but just remaining silent. Only after a second or two, he spoke. "I think so, yes. Even if Miss Parker won't admit it to me, she's curious and desperate to know what it is that we've discovered. If Jarod isn't the one to call us willingly, it's Miss Parker who'll make him call."

Broots thought about it for a moment. Sidney was probably right. Miss Parker had her flaws, being predictable when it came to her mother, was one of them. It was understandable, though. If someone had shot his mother he would've… no wait, that wasn't right. They didn't know if her mother had been shot; that was the whole point, wasn't it? "Maybe you're right. I hope so."

"He'll call, trust me", Sidney assured. For a second there, it felt like the old shrink knew something the younger man didn't.

_Wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?_ Given the fact Sidney had kept Catherine's faked death as a secret through all these years… How did he know Sidney wasn't to keep some other secrets from his workmates too? Reading people had never been Broots' good quality, which was why he mainly worked with computers of course, and so he could get no real hint no matter how he tried to examine his face to obtain one. Sidney was as stone-faced as always.

"He'll call", Sidney said again sounding somewhat sure of himself, "You know Miss Parker and I know Jarod."

Did he really? Something in his words caught Broots' curiosity immediately. Or rather, in the way he spoke. Glancing over his shoulder, he asked: "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing", Sidney said, but the smile disagreed with his words. "Nothing at all."

Returning his gaze to the screen Broots could do nothing but wonder if Sidney indeed was keeping something from him. By the sound of it, he was.

0000

Miss Parker snorted. The way fate liked to play its game. Of course Jarod had to bust in through the door when she was having her weak moment, right? A moment, which she didn't feel like sharing with anyone; the least with someone like Jarod. Alright, Jarod wasn't a bad guy in the real sense of the word. He wasn't mean and evil and he sure as hell wasn't one to enjoy others' pain… but still, she didn't want to give him the chance to change his mind on that. A chance to feel better about himself by actually seeing that her life wasn't all that great either. He had seen enough already. All those times she had fought with him on the phone, telling him her life was nothing but sugary frosting on top of a delicious cake were proved to be a complete waste of time when he was there, seeing it with his own two eyes. Her pain was her to deal with. Privately.

Too bad he couldn't get that through his damn thick skull!

"Parker, what happened?" With those words spoken, Jarod stepped closer tossing the phone on to the bed not bothering to waste another thought on its account. The cold air that had entered the room as he had opened the door, now crept its way towards Parker and even though she tried to prevent it, the uncontrolled shiver took a hold of her fragile, exhausted body.

Jesus, she had just thrown the man with a phone and he felt the need to ask what had happened? One genius she had there. "Sidney called", she stated tonelessly, removing her eyes from the empty wall she had been staring. Glancing up to see his face, she realized looking at him had a been a big, big mistake.

She looked away again, but could still feel his eyes on him… tingling. He was watching her with a worried face, frown wrinkling his forehead and with folded arms in somewhat pensive posture. A sudden surge of rage washed through her. As stupid as it was, she was tired of being mistrusted all the time. She got enough of that with her father for crying out loud! Carefully she looked up again, but the look on his face had stayed the same. _Shit! _The only conclusion she could jump into was that he was worried because he thought she had betrayed him and told Sidney their location instead of being worried of _her_. Of course, it was exactly what she should've had done too.

She did a double take of some sort. Why was she suddenly mad at him for not caring about _her_ state of mind? That didn't make sense… at all. Burying the realization somewhere in deepest corner of her entangled mind, she returned to the last thought that _had_ actually made sense.

Betraying Jarod.

_I should just let him believe that's exactly what I did, _she thought bitterly, but something made her answer differently regardless of her own decision. "I heard your phone ring so I answered it, alright?" She said with extremely sourly, "Your fault for leaving it here like that. You know, I could've called the Centre if I had wanted to."

Thinking she had given out the wittiest remark ever, she couldn't help but feel a bit better. But it didn't last for too long, for he didn't look impressed, only highly amused with a pleased smirk all over his face. Okay, what had she missed? Jarod answered the unspoken question as if he had read her like she was a open book. "If you had wanted to do that, you would've used the one on your nightstand."

She didn't even have to cast a glance to her side to remember that there indeed was a phone there, waiting to be used. The curse echoing around her head, never exited her mouth.

Fine. Jarod had won one tiny match. Big deal.

"So, you telling what he said or not?"

_No._ It was what she wanted to say. It was what she thought of saying. But it wasn't what she said. "He called you to ask if you know where I am", she explained. That was the excuse Sidney would've given to the pretender, so it had to do. She continued, smirking; "Of course, it became very clear you know where I am when I answered the phone."

The way she said it made Jarod swallow, but she didn't notice it. "And?"

She had exactly two options. She could tell the truth or… she could lie. Why was it that lying to Jarod seemed too damn difficult all the sudden? Like the pretender could've sniffed every one of her lies if she tried to play tricks on him… why? "He said he has some information about my mother." She paused, staring the floor and trying to keep herself from breaking. It was different when she talked about her mother with Sidney and Broots… Jarod made her remember what her mother had died for. For him, in one level. She had done all she could to rescue both her and Jarod from the hands of the Centre and failed. More than no one else it was Jarod that made her remember it. She cleared her throat, refusing to cry in front of him.

"Something that he assumes you want to know too." There was no trace of weakness in her voice, she had managed to keep it as cool as possible. Her voice wasn't even trembling which alone was a victory. "He wants us to meet."

Jarod's eyebrows rose and there was a genuine surprise plastered on his face. This one he really hadn't expected. "Meet?"

"Yes, meet", she confirmed. When her eyes met Jarod's gaze again she felt like… like nothing would be the same again. "You can call him yourself. It's not a trap, Jarod." She was about to… she swallowed, hard. She was about to let the man see into her heart just because she knew it was the only way to make him realize? To make him understand that there was no way in hell she'd play games when it came to her mother. "This is not a trap. I'd never use my mother to-" she started, but was cut off by Jarod's soft voice.

"I know", he said with a tone that temporarily froze Miss Parker's breathing. "You know that."

Then, he walked even closer and sat down next to her on the floor. Miss Parker knew what kind of person Jarod was… but never ever had she expected Jarod to respond to her feelings. Not like this, she hadn't. After all, she was the one who had repeatedly tried to lock the runaway into his cage and throw away the key. Suddenly, she wasn't even sure why she had done it… oh right, the deal. Catch Jarod and get your freedom. Leave Centre behind… But what Miss Parker knew was that even if she did manage to catch the pretender, she would never leave the Centre behind. It was all she had left of her family.

Eyes locked, they looked at each other for few silent minutes. He wasn't sure what was going on with Miss Parker there, but he didn't want to take his chances when one of the possible outcomes was, that he'd end up ruining the peaceful moment. For the first time since they had been kids… he truly felt like there was no grudge between them. From his part, there had never really been. It was clear to him why Miss Parker did what she did. People lived their lives the way they thought it to be best. Just because he was certain the way Miss Parker had chosen to live hers was the wrong one, didn't mean Miss Parker agreed.

He'd just have to maker her see it. Wasn't that what he had tried to do ever since his escape?

"This means a lot to me", Miss Parker spoke again. Jarod could almost hear how she fought with herself. "If you help me, Jarod, I won't betray you. I know you have no reason to trust me but…" She paused to swallow down the tears. "I need to know what happened to her."

The thought that hit her as she spoke was that the next day, she'd hate herself. Hate herself for breaking down like this for no reason at all. She'd hate herself and be disgusted by ever word she said, but yet she couldn't stop. "Please Jarod…"

Jarod wasn't sure what he was supposed to do.. or rather, what he even wanted to do. Every thought in his head told him to pull the woman closer, to hold her… But this wasn't any woman out there, this was Miss Parker. As far as he knew, this particular woman could pull out her gun - in case she had already realized to look into the top-drawer where he had put it before leaving - and the next moment, his brains would've been decorating the walls… Still, his hand rose up, slowly, all the way to touch her cheek. He had been close to her so many times before, but all those times, one of them had always been pointing a gun to the other one's head.

"I…" he started, but couldn't finish his sentence for he was interrupted by none other than Miss Parker herself. Miss Parker had suddenly grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulled him closer and crashed her lips, rather violently to be added, on his. The surprising movement was followed by one as surprising as it had been; the woman moved closer, spinning herself around so that she was suddenly sitting on his laps, hands on each side of his face… nails digging into his flesh. But all he could do was stare her closed eyelids and return the kiss with the kind of fire she held on her lips.

Wrapping his hands around her body, he tried to suffocate the voice of reason telling him to stop. But unlike usually, this time his inner sense had no control over him or his tongue dancing with hers.

Only when Miss Parker's eyes blinked open as if she had just then realized what she was doing, she pulled away gasping for air. At that his hands fell to his sides, but not willingly. Never had one thing as simple as that taken such an effort to complete.

She didn't move. Hands on her lips, she stared at him in horror but didn't say anything. He wasn't sure if he even heard her breathe, but finally, she took one shaky breath. Hands climbing up to hide rest of her face, the word came behind her fingers. "Shit."

She shook her head refusing to show her face. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

"Shit, Jarod!"

Oh no, no, no, no! She was not going to put the blame on him! She had been the one to kiss him, not the other way around and even though she admittedly had been in very… the only word his foggy mind could find was 'sensitive'… in very sensitive kind of mood, that was not going to work out!

"What did I do?" He asked innocently, pretending to be completely unaware of what had happened. His racing heart and the evil sensation meeting the middle part of his body, however gave it away that something in fact had happened. For his great luck, she was too busy muttering curse words to notice anything.

"Rather, what you didn't do!" Miss Parker snarled speaking out her mind, "When a female gets a bout like that one, you're supposed to stop her!"

Yep, indeed, _the _Miss Parker was back again. "Sorry Parker", he snorted with the usual playful tone of his with a smirk returning his face, "I don't carry 'Men are from Mars, Women from Venus' with me where ever I go."

The murderous glare, as always, was easy to be seen shining in her eyes, but wearing nothing his T-shirt, it didn't have the same kind of effect it usually did. "If I had my gun-"

He knew how the sentence would end and didn't want to hear it. That was probably why he suddenly grabbed her neck, pulling her closer into a flaming kiss and only after a split second, he realized she had once again, closed her eyes. He couldn't. He had to watch how the lines of her face changed; softened, how the coldness faded away and got replaced by something else…

Breaking the contact to draw in a breath, he rested his forehead against hers and listened her panting almost mesmerized. Her hands were now lying against his chest for support and he felt his heart beating against her hand. Did she feel it too?

"You were saying?"

She opened her eyes and though she didn't show a single hint of being about to remove herself from his lap, there was biting look in her eyes. Biting, but also desperate somehow. Miss Parker had done the one thing she had never wanted to do around Jarod, hadn't she? Lost control.

"Go to hell."

Fading image of red-haired Zoey flashed through his mind making it remembered that there was someone he was supposed to love and honor… but couldn't. And if that wasn't enough, the reason for it was right there in his arms. "Probably will", he growled face serious all the sudden. "But there's something I need to do first. _We_", he corrected, "need to do first."

Coming to her senses, Miss Parker was finally able to draw her head back even though she still didn't find any reason for her to remove rest of her body from the current spot. It ate her heart out to admit it, but this one man was able to bring her something she hadn't felt since… Since… She tried, but couldn't finish the thought. Instead, she placed her attention back on Jarod. They had to do… Her eyebrow rose hesitatingly. "…What?"

"Don't worry, not that." She wasn't sure if his reply made her feel relieved… or disappointed. Damn him! Damn the stupid assignment and damn her father. Damn her mother for dying on her like that, leaving the little girl all alone. Damn the Centre for ever being established!

Jarod observed her in silence for a short moment. Her eyes had become distant all the sudden, which they never were, not unless she was deep in her thoughts, in another world. He didn't really want to disturb her, but somehow she looked like she needed to be pulled back. And so he said: "We need to see my father."

"When?"

Pushing the woman gently on the floor beside him, he got up and pulled her up while doing so. "Now", he said huskily, "right this minute before you find your gun and do what you threaded." The smile made it noticed that it was meant to be a joke, but Miss Parker found herself trying to reply anyway.

"I…"

She, however, couldn't remember what it was that she had meant to say and so she was cut off by silence. He noticed it, but instead of mention it, he only said: "Wouldn't do that, yeah-" He tugged a strand of fallen hair behind her ear- "But you're known to be impulsive, Parker, I can't count on my good luck forever."

As if it wasn't strange enough, she suddenly missed the touch of his fingers as the hand pulled back again. To hide her temporarily moment of madness or whatever it was that had taken over her and was still holding her still, Miss Parker had to come up with something to say. Fast. "And you shouldn't, labrat", Miss Parker stated getting her normal voice back, "There's always a chance it runs dry."

0000

Zoey had been patient. She had been as patient and understanding as Jarod had needed her to be but there was a limit to her abilities. A limit, which the man he loved had crossed by an inch. But that inch was all it took. How long did he expect her to stay inside the house he had rented for them? Alone and with nothing to do? For the passed days, she had been cleaning the house, jogging, cleaning, taking baths and cleaning and jogging some more in turns and though she enjoyed the chance to relax, she felt she had gotten enough of it. When the almost-defeated cancer would come back with a bang and take her to grave, then she'd rest and relax. For now, she just wanted to live.

With Jarod.

She had thought he understood it, but it was starting to seem he hadn't. She had told him she wanted to be with him no matter what kind of ghosts there were chasing him and making him whimper in his sleep. She had said time after another that she didn't care about what would happen as long as he was there by her side when it happened. Shit, she'd do anything for him! So where was he?

She sank deeper to the warm bubble water and closed her eyes.

The day he received that damned video call from Major Charles, Jarod had disappeared into the night in search of his family. And she had been fine with that because she knew more than well how important family was. It was what had helped her through all the different treatments doctors had tried on her so yeah, she knew alright.

Jarod had said he loved her, given her final kiss before walking out of the door. He loved her. That was the only thing apart from her family keeping her sane when he was away, and all the sudden, his words were fading from her mind and all she could hear was a distant echo. Since morning hours, she had dwelled upon the nasty thought that something had changed and try as she might, she couldn't shake it off. The bubbling fear she had once managed to drown, had come back out of nowhere.

Jarod didn't know it, but during the time they had spent together, she had gathered little pieces of his past and gluing them together had showed her a picture she hadn't wanted to see. She didn't doubt his love for her, but she had come to realize that she wasn't the only one the man loved. He had never mentioned it or anything, but she was certain there was someone he kept dreaming of, someone he had loved since his childhood days but could never get to himself. Someone forbidden. And whenever those ghosts came to hunt him with their black cars and neat suits, she was afraid he'd run to the one ghost she didn't want him to meet.

Maybe it was stupid for her to feel that way. For all she knew, he could've been caught by that weird organization he referred to as 'the Centre' or worse…

Her eyes snapped open as the sound of ringing phone interrupted her thoughts. The phone Jarod had given her had been placed next to the bathtub half an hour ago, just in case and at that point, she was glad it had. Reaching down, she grabbed the phone and brought it to her ear.

"Jarod?"

The excitement was reduced to half when she heard another male voice, familiar though, speak. "Sorry to disappoint you, Zoey, but it's me."

"Charles", she clarified, not that the occasion called for it. There was only two people besides herself that knew the number of this phone, Major Charles being the other.

"That's me."

The worry rushed through her veins right after and instantly, she was more awake than ever in her life before. "Is Jarod ok?" Why else would Charles be calling her if not to tell that Jarod had been… She shook her head putting an end to the thought. Jarod had to be fine, had to be safe.

"I… I'm not sure", he said cutting her ability to breathe to zero. She had been right, hadn't she? Something _was_ wrong! Major Charles hesitated, but not for too long. "Look, I know this is lot I'm asking you, but you have any plans for few days?"

Hmm… what? She blinked not completely following. What was he going after with that kind of question? She didn't know, but she answered anyway. "No, not really… why?"

"I think it'd be best if you came here. Jarod… is in trouble of some sort." He exhaled heavily and continued, "I think you're the one to bring him to safe waters again, Zoey. You and no one else."

Jarod in trouble? Yes, for sure the man had spoken the magic words with what to get her on move. "What is happening there?"

He didn't want to say it, but felt it needed to be cleared. The woman deserved to know and if things went like he suspected, she'd be able to do something about it. Of course, if his suspicions were wrong, good for them, no harm done… but if they were right… He couldn't stand there and watch how his son was about to fall. He was his father and it was his job to make sure that didn't happen. If he couldn't make Jarod realize it, she could. "It's more of a question of with whom it's happening, Zoey."

Her fears had turned out to be justified, hadn't they? _I see. Time to put up a fight, then._ Time to protect what was hers. "Just tell me where and when, Charles, and I'll be there."

And he did.


	9. CHAPTER 8 the inner dilemmas

**A/N:**

The people in front of whom I bow my head:

**GQlover2003: **Heh, thanks. Somehow I think I know who you're cheering for… wonder why :wink wink: Thing is, I like Zoey and well, we cannot forget her. We need to stir it up a bit, don't we?

**HuntingPeace:** Thank you! I was worried people might not like that particular scene… but I'm glad if you did:relieved:

Thank you!

Don't worry darlings, it's still MissParker/Jarod fic, heh. (And yes there is a reason why I'm slowly dropping the title 'Miss' away… mwuahahah) Sorry it took me forever to update - longer chapter due the lack of updating, though.

As I've said, the timeline has been changed and so the evenings of the Inner Sense episodes have been melted into the fic, at least some parts of it. Which means when something isn't like it was in the show, yes, I'm aware of that (I mostly mean the part Ethan is playing in the fic) and it's part of the plot and I do not need to be told - unless I make some horrible mistake and mix their eye colors or something as important as that. Cause that would suck.

When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who' 

by Syrai

**Chapter 8 - the inner dilemmas**

"I'm not hungry," Miss Parker stated with frustrated tone for the third time in a row already and quickly escaped Jarod's chiding look by turning her eyes to observe the busy street through the big window next to their table. The sweltering leather seat on which she was sitting felt uncomfortable underneath her tights, the smell of grease that floated around the cafe like a plague was giving her a killer headache and the constant sound of a child crying somewhere behind her back was truly making her ready to burst into flames. If people didn't know how to shut up their own children, why did they bother taking them into public places such as this one when there was a chance someone was trying to enjoy a quiet lunch there? Keyword being 'quiet'. Or like in their case, _quiet_ breakfast with her moping and Jarod being as perky as ever. How the hell did he do it?

And how the hell was she still there? Why hadn't she smacked him in the face and told him that the last thing she wanted was to sit in some _stupid_ cafe eating some _stupid_ waffles with the _stupid_ pretender when they really should've been out there, figuring things out… plus, having wild sex and babies. Although, that was the part she figured it would be best to leave unsaid. God she hated her job sometimes. Especially when it made her do things even she found morally questionable. Not that this one would've been any different from the ones she had accomplished before… but… well, only it was. Time after time Miss Parker told herself she wanted to get the mission done so that she could go home and show Lyle how it really was done… but also, time after time, she told herself she needed to find out what happened to her mother and the only way to do that, was to trust Jarod. To get him to trust her - completely.

Could she execute both her own and the Centre's task at the same time? How?

Talking about a moral dilemma. She snorted in her mind returning back to her surroundings. The smell of grease flooded back the minute she remembered where she was.

Honestly, if she had had anything to say on it, they wouldn't have been there right now. They would've have even looked at the place twice. Hell no. But not that surprisingly, Jarod hadn't really asked her opinion on the matter after telling they'd go out. Out as in 'to eat', he had said. In fact, he hadn't even noted it when she had so politely given her thought out into the public. Arrogant bastard. She had said the last part also aloud, which had only made his smirk grew wider.

"You have to eat, Parker," Jarod said sensing her pensive moment was over and speared a piece of waffle with his fork before stuffing it into his mouth.

She could only glare. God, had he not seen in what kind of place they were? Everything was so… She looked around disgusted and wrinkled her nose unintentionally… dirty, somehow. Ordinary, even. Despite all the tings her job required, eating - or being for that matter, in a place like this was not part of the deal. "No, I don't," she snorted back folding her arms in mere protest, "I'm eating nothing that's made in a place like this." Yes, the rebellious teenager was yet again kicking in. But she couldn't help it. She had never been good with frustration and she had had her ulcer to speak for her on many occasions. If it happened again, at least she'd have him to blame.

He didn't even bother glancing around like she had, but only titled his head smiling from ear to ear. He knew the smirk on his lips would annoy her, but given her current mood, it was only fair. There was nothing wrong with the place by his books and the spoiled lady would simply have to deal with it. It wasn't as though she had never been in a place such as that one before - it was just about her getting her mind heard. Everything had to be done her way or not at all and well, the pretender loved being the one to break the pretty picture she had of herself. She couldn't control everything and she was slowly, although unwillingly, ready to admit that. Such a pleasant scenario, wasn't it? Strangely, Jarod couldn't have been happier even though there were at least dozens of reasons to feel something opposite from happiness.

"Come on, Parker, lighten up a little," he replied half-laughing and lifted his fork in front of her face bringing it closer and closer. "You have to taste these waffles, they're so-"

"Get that fork away from my face or I'll-" she interrupted glaring, but didn't get too far with her biting remark, for Jarod in turn interrupted her; "-Shove it up into my…" He paused making a face, "yeah I know," he continued chuckling, "I've heard that one before. Countless of times, really."

Yes, well, and he had deserved it every time too "And you'll hear it again many, many, many times," she stated through gritted teeth trying not to go ballistic on him. How was it that this man knew exactly how to push her buttons and irritate her even without really doing anything? She didn't know, maybe it was his face? The forever-glued smirk on his lips or the way his eyes sparkled when he knew she had been beaten… or was she feeling that way only because what had happened between them in that stupid little motel room? His fault. The cold stare got colder and he could almost hear her thoughts.

_There she goes again… _You didn't have to be a genius to realize where her thoughts had returned, but it did take a genius to be able to hide the fact she wasn't the only one whose mind wandered. He knew he'd have to make her talk about it, but somehow this didn't feel the right place. Or the time. But then, he was pretty damned sure that knowing her, the right time would never appear on their doorstep.

"Charmed," he spoke with a roll of his eyes, "But so you know, I'm serious about you eating." She observed his face for a short moment, annoyed. Fine, he looked serious, too, but it didn't mean she had to act on his every word and wish if the poor pretender decided to _be_ serious about something for a change. Why couldn't he just deal with his own business and leave her out of it?

"You have to eat, you can't keep the diet up forever."

"I'm not on a diet, you idiot," Parker retorted immediately. The grip she had of her arms got tighter as she desperately tried to calm down instead of screaming at his face. The Centre hadn't stolen all of her dignity, after all. Truthfully, she wasn't even so sure from where these hostile remarks came from. Yeah, they always bickered with Jarod from the minute they saw to the minute they fought and he ran, so it was nothing new, but she had made a decision to complete the job and in order for that to work, she'd have to quit it at some point. Hadn't she already agreed on the fact the point was already passed? Then what was this about?

_Stop being so complicated, Parker. Do what you have to do and stop with the fucking analysis.._

"Good, cause you really don't have to."

She blinked, stunned, but only in few seconds she regained her old self. Although, when she spoke again, her voice was actually a lot softer than it had been a moment ago and even though she didn't notice it, he surely did. "Look, Jarod," she started as Jarod prepared himself to hear another long lecture with billions of biting remarks, "I don't care what you think I need or don't need , or have to do or don't have to do."

What, was that all? One simple - or less simple - sentence? Hmm. "Yeah, right, I forgot that bit." _No, Jarod, you don't want to say it…_ but the words left his mouth before he could really reconsider it further. "What happened to the Parker I met this morning?" Hadn't he just thought to himself that this was nor the time or place to go on with this discussion?

Unlike he had expected her to, she didn't seem to mind the comment. Actually, he could've sworn there was a genuine smirk nearing the corner of her mouth, but it disappeared too quickly for him to be sure. "She was thrown into Renewal Wing. You know, where she belongs."

Ah, the infamous Renewal Wing. No wonder the comment hadn't bothered Parker - she had been too thrilled to throw in the only place she knew still made him shiver. The one place that had haunted his dreams for as long as he could remember for so many reasons. Yep, it was the only place where no one inside the walls of Centre truly wanted to end up in. He knew this only from experience.

"Just eat, ok?" The smirk was gone now. He only looked at her before picking up another piece of waffle and swallowed it down. "We're not leaving before you eat so in case you don't plan on staying here for the rest of the day, I'd advice you to order something."

She growled quietly and glared for a moment before raising her hand. "Waitress?"

_Thought so too. _"Good girl."

_Oh no, you didn't say that, did you? _The man kept pushing her towards the edge and he was doing it on purpose, goddamnit. She knew he was.

"Bite me, lab-rat."

0000

Emily had regained consciousness again, but only for a passing moment during which she been saying the weirdest things. For a second there, it had seemed she was a child again, telling someone how she had learnt to ride her bike on her own. The other person had answered too, to which the girl had only responded by saying "I know" but what it was to which she had replied, was unknown to Major Charles. Of course he knew it was best for the girl to rest and sleep it off without further disturbance, but it also worried her father to the point he felt he would soon break in tears. Major Charles had been searching for his family for so long after their departure that it had been almost too painful to find her like this. Hurt and nearing death. He wasn't one to cry though - the man had learnt to be tough since the day the Centre had stolen his peaceful life, but sometimes it was simply too hard. Sometimes he could do nothing but let the desperation eat him. If Emily didn't get better, someone would pay and that was a fact.

Where the hell was Jarod anyway? He had so much to tell the boy - things he rather not shared on the phone, but yet he was still out there somewhere playing games with that.. that… huntress. It truly was the only word his mind could come up whenever it was about Miss Parker. He should've ordered Jarod to break it off - he should've told him to break out from whatever deal it was that she had offered him. You simply could not trust a Parker. Catherine was an exception to the rule, of course, but then, it was what had got her killed, wasn't it?

If only Jarod was smart enough to dig whatever it was that Miss Parker wanted, out of her and then, leave. But he knew his son by heart - he had heard it in his voice the last time they spoke. There was something about that cold-blooded woman that got to him and there was no way he'd let the opportunity pass, although he was pretty sure not even Jarod knew what exactly the opportunity was. Still, Jarod might have been a pretender, but he was also a man. And well, Major Charles knew how that would turn out. He just wished it wouldn't. Glancing his watch, he sighed. It would take at least 24 hours before Zoey would arrive and hopefully, by that time Jarod would have already returned. Jarod would no doubt be nothing but mad at him for what he had done, but maybe he'd understand in the end. The whatever bond the traitorous woman was trying to build between herself and his son, had to be broken off right now.

Emily made a muffled voice drawing her father's attention to herself and the man moved closer. Sitting down on the chair next to her bed, he laid his arms on her bed.

_Come on darling. _"You need to wake up, Emily," he whispered stroking her cheek softly. God, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen - after her mother, of course. "I need you to wake up and tell me what's going on. What do you know? You know something, I'm sure of it. That's why they did this to you. That's why you need to wake up and fight. Fight for me, for your brother… for you."

But the girl stayed asleep.

Not that he had really expected anything else. But it didn't keep him from wishing - Emily knew something and he wanted to know what. He had gone to the address Emily had given him earlier and what he had found, was beyond his understanding. It was why he needed Jarod to return - he might have been able to understand what was going on there. This Ethan person… he needed help, that much he knew. A lot of it, too. Naturally Major Charles hadn't met the young man in person and so that wasn't how he knew, but he had found something else which proved to be a excellent source of information. Videos. Many, many videotapes that _Ethan_ had taped himself for some unknown reason. The videos went back for years and years and from what he had gathered, the boy had always been as insane as he was today. He talked to some sort of _voices_ and quite apparently, the voices did not only listen, but answered him too. The fear Major Charles had seen in his eyes was heartbreaking, but the sense of insanity seemed strong too - it was hard to tell the difference at times.

He wasn't sure what the boy was planning, but the plans for a bomb that he had retrieved from the man's lair did speak for themselves. Whatever it originally was, it was nothing good. Also, there was one video in particular that had peeked his interest. It was a footage of Ethan talking on the phone with an unnamed person. Ethan, he demanded to see his parents saying he was not going to follow the given orders unless he would be let to do so. The person on the other end of the line had apparently disagreed for Ethan had, with a rather harsh voice stated that he would not finish up the job otherwise. All he wanted was the pain to go away, that's what he had said. He wanted to see his parents and he wanted the pain to go away. He would do whatever they wanted him to, if he only got to see his parents. Now, what Major Charles wanted to know was what it was that he was ordered to do, then? Besides the whole bomb-scenario, of course. Had Ethan wired up some place? Could it be that while he waited his son to return to him, the man haunted by the voices, was out there killing people?

Somehow he doubted it. Major Charles didn't know why, but he did. Something in the young man's voice had convinced him that he was not going to go with the commands he had been given - the fact Ethan had suddenly crashed the bomb he had obviously been building, had helped too. Maybe it was how he had yelled to the phone that his parents did love him and that there was nothing they could do or say to make him believe otherwise. No, he did not believe they loved him and he also didn't believe they'd take care of him. Not anymore. "You said you'd take the pain away. But you can't. You were never going to." What had changed his mind?

The voices… was it the voices that had changed his mind?

The old man glanced at the box nearby the door. He had brought some of the stuff he had found back with him to show them to Jarod, although he did suspect Jarod would eventually go visit Ethan's little cave himself, just to get some kind of idea. A feeling. Still, at least it gave him something to do - going through Ethan's stuff, trying to figure out where the boy was.

They would have to find Ethan. They would have to find him and protect him - help him get rid of his pain… no doubt it was the Centre behind his agony. But first, they'd have to find some kind of lead and for that, he really needed Jarod to come back.

"Come on, Jarod. You can't stay away forever."

0000

"I wasn't going to."

Jarod watched his father jump up to his feet making the chair rattle against the floor as if it had been thrown aside. The loud sound seemed to move Emily, as the girl suddenly shifted and opened her eyes with a suffocated whimper. To Jarod it felt almost like a miracle even though it wasn't the first time the sleeping girl had decided to wake up from her slumber.

"Dad?" The moment Major Charles heard his daughter's faint voice, he spun around to look at her - to make sure she really was awake and indeed, she was. Unlike before, this time Emily seemed to really be awake instead of drifting in and out between her dreams. This time she really seemed to be there and it made both of the men hopeful.

"You've been sleeping quite some time," Major Charles said smiling and took the girl's cold hand into his own. Right after, he reminded himself to turn up the heating. The girl was freezing cold for God's sake. "Your brother decided to drop in just now, but I guess we should be glad for that. It's his fault I knocked the chair over." The man had tried to sound chiding, but they all knew the truth. At that Emily smiled letting her gaze wander around the room till it met Jarod's eyes.

"Hey. Why the look of surprise?"

There was a warm smile on his lips. Not the usual smirk of his, but a beautiful smile that only the ones he cared the most were allowed to see. And occasionally Parker… but who said he didn't care about her to begin with?

"Hey right back at you. Good to see you awake, Emily. We've been pretty worried on and off." With that said, he carefully moved closer and stopped only when he reached his father. Stuffing his hands into his pockets in a rather nervous manner, he tilted his head to observe the girl closer. To think of it, she looked a lot like their mother…

"I can imagine. How long have I been out?"

"Longer than we wanted you to," Major Charles replied rolling his eyes. "But you always were a stubborn one. A trait you share with your brother, no doubt." There was a hint there that Jarod caught rather easily but didn't comment on it. "Let's pretend I didn't hear that one, ok?" Major Charles only nodded in agreement. Jarod was probably right - they would not start arguing over Miss Parker now that his daughter had finally woken up… although, it did make him wonder. Where was Miss Parker?

Jarod paid no attention to his father's questioning glances, as his attention was pointed only towards his sister. It felt so… surreal. To stand there in the same room with not only his father, but with his sister too. To be able to talk to them and pretend that everything was ok, everything was normal. Only, he didn't have to pretend anymore, now did he? While everything might not have been ok, or normal for that matter, but things were getting better.

His moment of happiness was suddenly relished with a hint of sadness, though. If only Kyle had been there… it had been so important to his brother to find their family. Reuniting them had, in fact, been even so important to him that he had given his own life in order to safe Jarod's, which was something he would never forget. Things were going to be different now, for sure. He would not lose his family ever again - Kyle's death would not be for nothing and also, he wasn't ready to feel that kind of pain again. He had lost his brother twice - whenever he thought of the moment he saw the van explode, he felt what he had felt then. He had watched the van burn believing it was his brother inside there, only to learn later on that Kyle had actually managed to fake his death the genius he was. And just when he had gotten his brother back into his life, the Centre took him away again. Killed him in front of Jarod's very own eyes, on top of all. There was just no limit to the Centre's doings.

It was Emily's cough that woke him up from his memories. Immediately Jarod stepped past his father and grabbed the glass of water on the night stand next to her bed. "Here, you should drink something." Knowing that Emily would probably still be too weak to hold the glass herself -not that she'd admit that- , he carefully lifted it to her lips. She took a sip before resting her head back down. "Thanks." There had been no need for the quiet thank you, but it felt nice to hear it anyway.

Major Charles had said nothing. He didn't have any words to say and so he just watched the interaction between his children wondering… wondering how things would have been if the Centre had never done all those things… what would their life had been alike? If Jarod hadn't been… his mind paused on that one as the feeling of guilt took a hold of him. Jarod was what he was and it was no good picturing the boy without his pretender genes. It didn't work like that. It shouldn't have, anyway.

Although Jarod would have liked to enjoy the _normal_ moment for a bit longer -like forever, for example-, watching his sister's bruised face, he realized it simply wasn't possible. Not if he wanted to get their stolen lives back. Besides the fact they didn't have time to spend some much needed quality time together, there was also a very impatient woman in the church waiting for him to go get her and he was somewhat sure that if it didn't happen rather sooner or later, violence would ensue. He had always managed to find a way out of those sorts of situations by leaving a very annoyed woman behind him -mostly locked up into some weird place or handcuffed to some pipe-, but that wasn't how it would go forward this time, although it did sound tempting. Jarod sighed out of pure exhaustion. Things were getting too complicated, even to him. But then, when it was Parker, complications were nothing new.

"Tell me, you remember anything?" He asked deciding it was finally time to get it over and done.

Emily looked away at first, almost as if she wasn't sure what to say. Maybe she wasn't. "I don't know." She frowned biting her lip - funny, just like Parker did when she thought no one was looking.

"I think so. I mean I'm not sure. The pretty boy got rough with me, you know, threw me out of the window and all… " Yes, they all knew that already. She was rewinding the events in her mind rather than telling them what had happened and knowing this, Jarod stayed silent instead of saying what he really wanted to say. That would've included some pretty harsh curse words and threads and at the moment, he wanted Emily to hear neither. Was this what it felt like to be a big brother? He wasn't sure. Maybe. But he had to give it to her - she still had her sense of humor.

"He wanted me to stop looking."

That broke their father's silence. "Stop looking?"

"For you… for Jarod… for Ethan." The words came out with pauses and a wave of affection washed over Jarod. She was in pain - even after all that sleep, the physical pain was still there, but she was trying her best to hide it. It seemed he had one brave little sister to deal with.

But there more important matters on their hands that had to be solved before they could get anything done. Ethan, for example. "Who is this Ethan?" Jarod asked suddenly. There had been so much talk of this Ethan, but no one had really been able to define his part in the play and that was something he needed to be done. Who was he? The enemy or just another victim of the Centre's ruthless games?

"I'm… I'm not entirely sure," Emily choked out, unsure. There was something she was holding back, wasn't there? No matter how good he was with pretending, it was impossible for Jarod to put himself into her position. Maybe Sidney had been right - personal connections screwed up his gift, at times… or a curse, depending on how you looked at it.

"At first I thought it was you… I don't know…" she fidgeted and continued, "he seemed to fit the profile… Then I realized that… he's not. But he is."

The doctor in him kicked instantly. The girl obviously wasn't well yet - that had been quite a fall she had taken and it wasn't fair for them to question her upon the very moment she woke up. They should've given her some time… Jarod mentally kicked himself. _Don't rush with it. _"Emily, you're not making sense here. You should sleep some more."

"I'm done with sleeping," she replied with much stronger tone. There w as no way she'd go back to sleep after missing out on everything that had been going on and he knew that. Yep, if they ever fought, it would be one hell of a show. Closing her eyes, she breathed out before finally speaking aloud her thoughts. "I'm fine. What I mean is, I think Ethan - I think he's our brother. But that's all I know so far."

There was a moment of freezing silence. Major Charles could hardly breathe and the situation wasn't much better for Jarod either. There had been so many different possibilities… so many different theories he had come up with, but that was definitely not one of them. There was no record for a fourth child and obviously, his father didn't seem to know about one either. "How can… how could we have a brother?"

Emily only sighed, frustrated. "I'm not sure. The Centre… there's nothing they can't do and you know it. You should try hacking into NuGenesis. I tried but God forbid, I just don't have your genes so I can't prove my theory."

He managed to laugh at that. She had tried to hack into NuGenesis? What a silly girl she was. No wonder they were pissed off, then - whenever someone fingered their little precious files and databases or anything alike, the Centre went insane. That didn't explain everything though. Was that how they had found out her location or had they been tagging her all along? There were still some unanswered questions he intended to get sorted out, but not right now - like what exactly was her theory? "Good for you. Wouldn't want Parker to try and lock you up, too. I can tell it's tiring every once in a while."

The girl didn't seem to follow, but before she could speak, Major Charles cut in clearing his throat. "Which reminds me… Jarod? Where's Miss Parker?"

Ah, right, of course. Jarod couldn't hide the amused smirk. He had actually thought they'd come to this a little bit sooner, but obviously Major Charles' attention had been undivided a moment ago.

"Miss Parker?" Emily repeated the name as though tasting it. "Who exactly is Miss Parker?"

He could've lied. He could've said she was no one important and that she shouldn't worry about that now, but somehow Jarod got the feeling that lying to your newly found family wasn't the best way to start building a relationship with them. Or with her, that was. And so, instead of all the things he could've said, he told the truth. "She's my… well, hunter, as dad would put it." The horror on Emily's face was easy to see, but so was the interest that peeked through. "The Centre's top agent waiting to lock me up in a cage, naturally. Only, for some reason the Centre decided to kick her out - although I'm not so sure I believe that explanation… but the point is, she offered me her help."

"Why?" Emily questioned immediately and Major Charles couldn't help but chuckle. At least he wasn't the only one with some sense of reason in the room.

"She helps me, I help her. You should know, we're not the only ones whose lives the Centre has ruined." No, they definitely weren't. Of course, if you asked Parker, she probably would have never admitted it, but Jarod knew better. She said she had been kicked out, but he didn't buy that one so easily. It was obvious Parker had her own agenda in the game, but he wasn't so sure if that was the only reason she was there. She was still tied up to the Centre one way or another, but he intended to find out just how… and change that.

"Yeah, but she's the only one whose father is the head of the Centre, might I point out," Major Charles stated and as he thought, Jarod received a stunned look from his sister. The part with him being the head of the Centre didn't please her, then… not that surprising.

"You know, Charles, you really shouldn't blame me for that one. It's not like a child could choose her parents."

Looking over his shoulder Jarod saw Miss Parker standing in the doorway with her usual folded arms posture. As usual, she was wearing tight black skirt and a jacket with blue shirt underneath, which only added to the coldness radiating from her. She didn't wait for the invitation she knew she wouldn't get, but simply stepped inside and closed the door behind her. They hadn't even heard the door open… wait, damn, had he left it open? Jarod wasn't sure, but it annoyed him anyway. It was once again one little detail he shouldn't have forgotten. That happened way too often nowadays - him forgetting things that could in the end be lethal. Leaving doors open was definitely one of those.

"Ah Miss Parker, I was wondering where you are." Giving a cold glance towards Major Charles, Miss Parker walked closer. Yeah, of course he had. He had probably been wondering where she was so that he could bust in and shoot her with a rifle and kick her in the ribs just for the fun of it. Alright, so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was fairly easy to see the man wanted her no where near his daughter - or Jarod. If he only knew… "I'm sure you did."

"So this is Miss Parker then?" Emily caught up with the situation eyeing the woman suspiciously. Why did she get the feeling this cold-looking woman was going to cause a lot of trouble in the days to come? But just what kind of trouble that would be, she didn't know.

Parker turned to look at her and without meaning to, she let her face soften. "Yeah, I'm sorry about my brother," Parker spoke, although she didn't sound that apologizing - never did. Truth was, she did feel sorry for the girl for what Lyle had done, but the only reason she brought it up was to let her know of her association with that son of a bitch. It wasn't her job to apologize for that idiot, but from experience she could tell it was better to get these kind of things out of the way right away instead of waiting for them to come and bite her in the ass. Plus, she felt strange satisfaction whenever the old man threw an angry glance at her way. The asshole deserved it for all the reasons in the world.

"He has the habit of eating Asian girls and throwing others out of the windows, I'm the only one sane left in our family. It's no wonder he lost his thumb for all the shit he's done, to think of it."

She didn't quite react as Parker had thought she would - Emily's lips twisted into a weak smirk - weak or not, it was definitely a smirk she recognized. Hopefully it was the only thing she had her brother had in common… "Now I know why you looked so familiar. In case you're going to follow your brother's foot steps, please don't. I'll let you know that I'll be better prepared this time and I'll fucking bite."

Major Charles looked absolutely stunned to hear the angelic girl speak such words, and it did make Jarod rose an eyebrow too, but Parker just couldn't help it - the wide smile appeared on its own. The girl sure had an attitude to match with hers and she liked that. It wasn't every day someone actually dared to speak back to her with a tone such as she had just used and weirdly, it was refreshing for a change… Jarod and his stupid remarks didn't count, of course. He had the obvious advantage over her since they'd known each other since they were kids and knew what to say and what not. It wasn't a challenge to him - it was a challenge for her to not get annoyed.

"I'll keep that in mind." Having said that, she glanced over at the Major. "You don't have to worry about me anymore, Charles. I believe it wasn't you who killed my mother or stole her body so I'm not going to try and shoot you. I just hope you pay me the same courtesy." Yes, there had been time she had been convinced that Major Charles had killed her mother, but with everything that happened, plus finding an empty grave, she had started to wonder if things truly were as she had thought them to be. That, and she couldn't go killing Jarod's father for any time soon, now could she? Maybe after, if the occasion presented itself.

"Parker…" Jarod paused not knowing to say what was on his mind. He had been giving it lots of thoughts lately and no matter how he looked at it, he ended up with the same conclusion every time. He just hadn't said it to her yet…"No one ever said your mother's body was stolen."

She frowned not understanding his point. Ok, let's see. The grave in which her mother was supposedly buried had been empty… which meant there was nothing there. Which meant it was stolen - obviously, since it wasn't where it was supposed to be. It was pretty logical to her, really. "Well it's not in her grave. I doubt she walked it out of there."

_Do you, now? _Couldn't let the day go without some sarcasm biting in, no, no. "Yes, but aren't you forgetting something?"

As much as she usually enjoyed these idiotic word games of theirs, this time she was too impatient. He was talking about her mother, after all, and she wasn't going to let him walk out on this conversation - this time he wasn't allowed to just play around. It was so typical of him to dance around the subject and just drop a hint or two without really telling her anything, but only assuming she'd figure it out. Really, she should've kicked him for that one. For that and all the other things he had put her through. Of course she usually did figure out his clues, but it wasn't funny anymore. "Like what?"

Jarod suffocated the urge to chuckle. Being the Centre's most cunning operative, sometimes she was strangely naive. Or then, she was just protecting herself from the information that could end up hurting her. She couldn't let her hopes get the better of her, after all, and so day after day there was that same old cold shell greeting him and everyone else. There was no room for hope in her life, not anymore. The loss of Thomas had made sure of that. "Just because the stone has her name doesn't mean the body ever was there."

She swallowed - she had done it very carefully not wanting to let her nervousness show, but he saw it anyway. That bastard. "You're making it sound as… as.." If the swallowing didn't give it away, then her stuttering definitely would and so, she snapped her mouth shut staring at him with a threading glare. How dare he suggest something like that? Maybe he expected her to be happy to hear it, but she wasn't. There was no way she could've been alive… she wouldn't have let her daughter in the hands of her father. She couldn't have.

"As your mother would still be alive?" He offered not so helpfully. There was nothing amusing in particular about the situation, but the looks she was flaring at him did seem a bit overreacted. Had she never really considered the possibility that her mother might have, in fact, survived from the assumed accident? Well, granted, self-suicide could hardly be counted as an accident, but a long time ago, they had both started to suspect whether it truly had been a suicide or not. And from what they had gathered - she too, he was sure of it-, they knew that was something it hadn't been.

"Yes, I thought that's what you're saying. I just can't believe what I'm hearing."

Well someone had to do it - tell her the truth. It wasn't something neither her father nor her brother often did and quite frankly, Sidney wasn't that honest either and Jarod knew it. The only one that actually didn't dare to lie to her was probably Broots, but that was mainly because he feared her - and liked her, but mainly feared. "Now, about that call you received. Tell me, what exactly did Sidney say?"

At first she didn't say anything, but simply stood there with all the thoughts flying in circles inside her head. "Parker?"

_I need to tell him. I don't want to, but I need to… _There was no reason left for her to keep the information for herself anymore and so she started talking. Leaving only the bits about her real mission out, she told exactly what Sidney had said… and with some not so polite power names added in the middle…


	10. CHAPTER 9 pretending to love me

**A/N: **Review and I'll probably write twice as faster… not cause I'd be evil, but just cause that's how it works. Although at the moment things have been a pretty hectic and I've been making icons like crazy… my lj is…or was… floating with them. And then there's whole applying to schools and stuff. Sigh. Anyway, forgive me that it's taken so goddamn long to get anything done, please? Oki, anyways, replies to reviews at the bottom.. just because.

When the Triumvirate says 'jump', you say 'on who' 

by Syrai

**Chapter 9 pretending to love me**

Miss Parker had been lying awake in their shared bed for few hours now, but none of the questions her mind kept asking had been answered during that time. Instead, she kept rolling from one side to another, sweating and sighing every other minute as the amount of the questions only kept increasing. It was hot, but when she removed the sheets she got cold and no position whatsoever felt good enough for her to stay still for longer than few minutes. It was a wonder Jarod hadn't woken up yet - she had always assumed he was a light-sleeper who would open his eyes at any sound. Then again, he hadn't woken up when she had climbed on top of him either, now had he? _That's because I was pretty damn careful and cause I'm damn good at what I do,_ she thought to herself… this was something different. Surely he should've woken up by now? Or maybe Jarod had just grown accustomed to her being there, accustomed to her body warmth; her smell next to him. Maybe it was an advantage created by their shared childhood? The realization made her stop fidgeting for a moment… it was weird what a calming effect one simple thought had. It meant he felt comfortable near her, didn't it? The smile appeared on its own.

But of course, it disappeared as quickly as it had come and so she paid no attention to it. Instead, she rolled to her left side, again, and only stared at Jarod's sleeping figure trying to figure out just exactly what was going to happen now. He was lying on his stomach, the back of his head towards her. The curtains that had been left open gave the room a dim lighting and so she could somewhat clearly see his body… had she ever seen him so peaceful, so relaxed?

Tearing her eyes off him and his naked back, she rolled over onto the other side to avoid looking at him.

_Stupid Jarod._

She sighed and to get something else to think about gazed around the small room. They were at a motel. Again. It was a never-ending circle, truly and weird thing was it seemed to entertain Jarod for some reason. He could've at least rented a nicer place or book a room at some fancy hotel but no, it simply had to be a crappy kind of motel that he knew would drive her insane. No doubt that was his master plan, right? Men.

It had taken several hours and several arguments for them to decide what to do next… mainly because Major Charles felt nothing but suspiciousness towards her and her motives. He was convinced the woman had her own secret agenda, which of course was true and so, she couldn't really blamed the man, but still, for some reason she felt unbelievably insulted. She wasn't sure why, though. This man had once trusted her mother, but couldn't pay her the same courtesy and that sting a little, perhaps. If Charles had been the one to decide what to do with her, she would've probably been in handcuffs again and probably in the bottom of an ocean somewhere far away. Luckily, it hadn't been his decision to make and she had been saved. Emily, after talking with her for few hours, had come to the conclusion that Miss Parker was actually the kind of woman she could've liked and weirdly, she had felt the same. It was strange, but not that unexpected even though it wasn't something Parker liked admitting. Emily had a strong spirit and surprisingly intellectual mind, after all, and Parker knew better than well that girls like that had become rare.

She felt a little better just thinking about the young girl she had met earlier that day. Emily had told they should have stayed there instead of going to a motel, but being the kind of guy he was, Major Charles had refused and quite loudly, too. There was no way in hell he would've left his daughter near Miss Parker for longer period of time and so, Jarod had solved the issue by renting a motel room for the two. This way he could keep an eye on her, naturally, but she didn't really mind. At least she had some company… besides, there was still an order to follow… drawing both hands to hide her face, she closed her eyes making a sound that undoubtedly sounded like a whimper. That fucking order.

For a moment she wondered what would happen if she actually did chose to do something as stupid as ignore her father's order. She'd end up dead, wouldn't she? Yeah, well, that limited her options a lot, then.

Major Charles with his suspicious thoughts and the Centre and its stupid assignment weren't the only things that made her restless, though. No, part of her couldn't stop thinking about Ethan… where was that boy? Who was he? How was he connected to the Centre? How could he have been… Jarod's brother? She rose up only to turn around her pillow before pressing her head back down against the less warmer fabric. Nothing made sense and that's why they should've been out there, looking for him… and instead, they were sleeping? Or at least, trying. If she had behaved like this while chasing Jarod, she would've never gotten as close as she usually did. When you're trying to find someone, you don't eat, you don't sleep, you don't relax. You get the job done and everything else becomes after that. You get a goddamn ulcer too, fine, but that was besides the point.

Again, she rolled over, but this time she was surprised. Jarod had obviously woken up and was now looking straight at her with a wrinkled forehead.

Had she woken him up? Damn.

She wasn't sure what to say, but Jarod solved it for her pretty quickly. "Could you stop that already?" He asked with a neutral whisper. He wasn't amused, but neither was he frustrated or annoyed, either. He just sounded fully alarmed, as if he hadn't slept at all... She had been too deep in her thoughts to hear his movement… which annoyed her, as usual. Gods, being with Jared instead of hunting down the damned labrat in the old-fashioned mouse-cat way had really softened her up. Soon she wouldn't be able to hear a goddamn thunder storm even if she was walking through one!

"Stop what?" She asked, playing dumb both with her voice and her expression. It wasn't what she had intended to do, but the question had simply come out. Besides, what did it matter?

He gave her a knowing look before speaking. "Rolling and fidgeting and rolling and fidgeting and all that sighing. It's making me go insane."

Oh… that… She wasn't sure what it was that washed over her, but strangely enough, it felt like guilt. But why? She had nothing to feel guilty about… or maybe she did. A little. "I…"she cleared her throat to strengthen her voice, "I thought you were sleeping."

He chuckled softly and she could feel the bed vibrate slightly against her side. Instantly that little movement made her think of Thomas. Her whole body froze in seconds - gods, it really had been a long time since she had felt anything resembling that. Something so casual and normal, but yet so intimate. Sure, she had had things with guys here and there after Thomas's death but they had never been serious. Ever. They weren't about love, she had already decided to leave all those kinds of feelings for the type of girls that actually could handle them. Obviously, she couldn't. Or if she did, someone would fuck things up for her and she wasn't ready to make that mistake again. So, it was just her way of taking out the steam and trying to forget the shitty reality that kept waiting behind the closed doors. But the difference, which suddenly seemed to smack her face was that none of those guys had actually shared a bed with her and actually slept.

So, that didn't change anything. _It doesn't._

She had spaced out again, but deciding it was better not ask, Jarod broke the silence. "Well, I was trying to, but you moving all the time really doesn't help."

"I'm sorry."

_What? _Miss Parker couldn't help but blink. Had she just _willingly_ apologized to Jarod using the humble phrase she hardly ever said? Or little less meant, at that. Yep. She wasn't the only one surprised, but Jarod managed to hide his own feelings before Miss Parker could even think about sorting out her own thoughts. Something odd was happening to her, no doubt about that one and unlike one would've assumed, he wasn't going to pick on her about that. Parker, she was changing and he could see it. It had only taken few days, but the change was there and on top of that, it was easy to be seen, too. Well at least, it was easy for him to see it as it get popping out every once in awhile even though she did her best to keep it hidden. The way she had spoken for few days now, it had been softer, calmer somehow. The way she had looked at him, it had been more peaceful and definitely more trusting. She had always trusted Jarod on some level - he had never given her reason not to, but still it was different now. Simply the way she acted had been so much more natural and warmer although she still tried to fight it. He wasn't sure why and it bothered him. It was obvious Miss Parker had come to him for a reason and it wasn't just about her mother, but what the other reason was, he couldn't figure it out. If it had been the Centre trying to catch him, surely they would've done so already

... Something was not right, but what? What kind of stupid game was she playing this time?

"So, what happens now?" Parker asked suddenly interrupting his thoughts. She was clearly trying to escape the demons the silence brought and he knew it. He had been there many times in her place. The frown disappeared and he let out a deep breath. "I'm not sure. Tomorrow, we'll go to that address on Ethan's letters, ok?"

Parker nodded, pleased by the fact he had given her something else to think about. Ah right, going through the box filled with Ethan's stuff that Major Charles had dragged with him, they had found a letter written by Ethan. It was addressed to his parents, but obviously, it had never been sent. Fortunately, it did have an address on it that Jarod obviously planned to visit very soon. "I take it you mean the letter to his parents?" The question was unneeded, but she felt like saying something.

He nodded against the pillow with closed eyes. "Yeah."

"And by 'we' you mean…?" It wasn't that hard to tell he was tired and wanted nothing more but to sleep… so? She wasn't going to let it go right now. They were having a moment… of some sort… and she was going to use all the advantage it gave. She was insecure about her place, which was actually very common to her nowadays as Lyle had made it his life mission to ruin his sister's life, but it didn't mean she had to like it. No, she had to know where she stood. Was she going to be handcuffed to a bathtub, locked into the trunk or was he actually going to let her be part of this stupid little adventure that she had signed herself on? No matter what he decided, she would have to accept it, but still, she wanted to know it beforehand. Well, at least that would save them both from a lot of trouble and she would have time to come up with multiple excuses to throw at his face in the morning and he would in the end have no other choice but to give up. Ah, perfect plan.

"You and me," he murmured half-asleep with the kind of soft tone that made Parker's skin crawl… but in a good way, which made her nervous. Very nervous. How the hell could he - Jarod of all people, have this kind of effect on her, huh? _You're just missing Thomas, that's all, _she said to herself. That's all it had to be. She was missing Thomas, missing the intimacy their relationship had brought… missing someone to be there for her. Yes, that had to be the reason. She moved so that she was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling unsure about where she was supposed to look.

"Okay, just making sure."

Maybe she just needed to get laid, huh? That could've helped with the tension… The thought made her chuckle sarcastically in her mind as she realized what the words truly meant. _That's why I'm here, isn't it?_

Then why did she want to go and throw up?

"You know, you can tell me," Jarod said suddenly. She knew he was looking at her even without glancing at her side. It was a feeling she felt that told he had his eyes on her. It was the way her skin tickled… burnt.

Parker, she swallowed trying to calm down, which Jarod saw and made a mental note. Uh huh. She was definitely hiding something. "Tell you what?"

You could tell by the way she had spoken the words - too carefully. Jarod had always wanted to peek under the cold shell to see the real Parker he knew was hidden there somewhere, but now, as she was slowly breaking through, he realized it was far more thrilling he could have anticipated. The magic when it came to Parker was that you never quite knew where you were with her - Jarod, he was a pretender. He could always tell where he was with people. If he didn't know, he could get inside their minds, pretend to be them and understand what they were going through and eventually, he'd get there. He'd know. He could almost hear their thoughts, but with Parker, it was never that easy. There was a connection and yes, he felt like he understood her, but it wasn't because he could get inside her head. He couldn't. It was something else and he wasn't sure what… but he did want to find out what that something was.

It was the bond they had always shared, maybe.

"Why you're here, for starters," he answered finally. For a moment there, Parker had thought he had fallen asleep again, but the burning on her skin had told otherwise. "I know you're lying, it's not just about your mother but I don't-"

Enough. Enough of this. "Stop," she interrupted him coldly, "You don't want to know and you shouldn't." So that was what he wanted; her to spill out her most inner thoughts… her soul. She kept speaking even though she wasn't sure from where the words came. "It's got nothing to do with you… It's just that… Well, dad and Lyle are basically all the family I have left and besides Broots and Freud there…" The comment was followed by a cynical snort before her voice changed again, "you're… you're actually the only one I trust. All I've got left now." She paused wondering whether it was the truth or if it was something her mind had come up with to cover up… something. She didn't know. The hell with it. "But don't make a big deal out of it. To me you're still the same old labrat you were."

… _or are you? _

"Wouldn't dream of." Still, somehow, he doubted it. There was an unseen line somewhere between them and Jarod was pretty sure one of them was about to cross it very, very soon. And as crazy as it sounded to him, he preferred it to be her so that she couldn't accuse him of anything later on. He'd wait. After all, patience was something he had never lacked in. Besides, watching her squirm was entertainment at its best, not that he would've enjoyed her insecure moments… or maybe he did. A little… a lot. It was just refreshing to see her reactions instead of listening to her biting insults on the phone. Her mouth had always been good when it came to lying, but her body spoke another language and his seemed to be fluent when it came to it.

Patience, however, was something Parker had never had. The silence to which Jarod had fallen was making her uneasy and she felt the need to say something; anything, to break the silence she felt to be awkward. "I want to know what happened to my mother and you're somehow connected to all this shit and if I have to stay here with you to dig through that pile, then that's what I'll do."

Funny, few weeks ago, he could've believed her. Now he didn't. "As charming as always."

"Just telling the truth," she barked back, finally turning her gaze to greet his eyes. Suddenly his eyes didn't look that tired anymore and she could've sworn he was laughing at her with his eyes. Sometimes she could've given anything to get inside his head, to hear what he was thinking. That was the thing she hated the most about him. How completely impossible it was for her to get a grip of his thoughts… he made it seem so easy. He always seemed to know what she would do and say next, but as much as she liked to think she knew Jarod better than anyone, every now and then she was forced to rethink it. Jarod was a mystery. Had always been and would probably always be… _stupid labrat._

… Then why was she feeling sad about it? _Argh! Get a grip, seriously._

"Do me a favor, Parker," Jarod spoke smiling, although she refused to meet both his eyes and his smile that she automatically knew would be there, "and sleep. You'll be less crankier tomorrow if you do, trust me. You always seem a lot nicer to handle when you've actually slept through the night."

She didn't have time to answer. By the time she actually had come up with a pathetic remark, he was already asleep or pretended to be if nothing else. So she growled at him, irritated as hell. Yep. Jarod was definitely making her lose her touch and she swore silently that she'd make him pay for that one. It was the 'how' part she had yet to figure out.

0000

It was the intense sound of someone's busy fingers hitting the keyboard that woke her up a few hours later that night. Grunting, she pulled the sheets to cover her head, but the annoying sound didn't seem to go anywhere and therefore, made it impossible for her to go back to sleep. After a few painful minutes of nothing else but the sound of typing ringing loudly in her ears, she threw the sheets off and sat up to see what the hell was going on.

It was Jarod, as expected, but unlike he was supposed to, he was sitting on the floor at the end of the bed with a laptop open in front of him. From that far away she couldn't see what he was writing, not even when she rose to her kneels to see better, but frankly, she wasn't that interested anyway. Still, she had to ask.

"What the fuck are you doing?" She snorted through gritted teeth, falling back down on the bed and closing her eyes as the soft pillow met with the back of her head. It felt… heavenly. Damned pretender - she had finally been able to actually sleep and he had to go and ruin it for her. So fucking typical. It always involved Jarod, be it a phone call or something else. Couldn't he have waited for the sun to come up this time?

He didn't answer.

The silence surprised her. Jarod liked to annoy her, they both knew that, but ignoring her wasn't one of those things he usually did. His specialty was witty word games and winning remarks, not the girly kind of silent treatment. "Jarod?"

Still nothing.

… Fine. God that man could be such a pain in the ass when he wanted to. Plus, she was cranky as hell for the unwanted wake up call. "Fuck you too," Parker spat with tensed jaw, but instead of ignoring him, she sat up once again and crawled to the end of the bed to see what was keeping the pretender too busy to even answer. She noticed he wasn't typing anymore… actually he just sat there staring at the screen in front of him. She couldn't see his face, but suddenly she sensed that something had clearly happened. But bad or good, that she didn't know.

Reaching down and landing a hand upon his shoulder without even intending to, she finally received a reaction. He looked over his shoulder and up to her. The consoling touch had probably surprised him as much as it had her given the way he was looking at her.

"Jarod?" She whispered and now something flashed in his eyes, almost as if he had been suddenly snapped out of some kind of trance.

"I… I did it," the pretender spoke with cut breaths.

Uh, what? Her head tilted to one side as she kept staring at him with a questioning face. Was she actually supposed to know what it was he had done or was the pretender just sleepwalking? That would've given her something to tease him about, for sure, but that probably wasn't the case, no was it? Letting that thought go, she instead focused on him and asked: "You did what? Stole another million from the Centre and gave it to charity as usual?" There was a smile on the corner of her mouth, but he failed to see it.

His mind was obviously on other things, she noted. What kind of discovery could possibly generate a reaction like this one out of him?

"I hacked into NuGenesis," he said. There was no reason to keep the said information to himself nor did he want to.

That was all it took for the smile to fade away. Drawing her hand back as if she had only now realized where it was, she found herself completely puzzled. That was supposed to be a good thing, wasn't it? Then why did he seem so… shocked? Was she reading him wrong? Was he simply disappointed because he had found nothing? No, that wasn't it.

"You did? Found anything?" Well, obviously he had, but the real question was, would he tell her?

"The AA8585 file…" His voice faded away and at first she wasn't sure if she should press on or let it go. As usual, the curiosity was too much for her and so she decided to go forward ignoring everything else. From what Parker had gathered, AA8585 was a sequence of letters and numbers that Emily had written down when she had sobered up from her slumber for a few passing minutes. Major Charles really didn't feel it necessary to share all the information with the Centre's little puppet, as he called her, and so Jarod had only explained a few things to make her feel a little less confused about, well, everything. "The numbers Emily gave you, right?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod, "It was a shipment of cryogenically frozen sperm that was shipped to The Centre."

Oh, gross. Her first reaction was to snort a disgusted ew into the air, but she withdraw the urge by reminding herself that it would probably ruin the little chance she had to pry. "Yes? And?"

He didn't speak at first, which made her want to lean down over his shoulder to see what it was that he was staring at so intensely. He really wasn't making it easy for her, huh? Okay, so she could jump and steal the laptop and you know, run into the bathroom, but that would probably erase all the progress she had made with him. Spying over his shoulder would with no doubts do the same… so, what was a girl to do? Hmm. Only one thing. Folding her arms to her chest and biting her lip, she took a deep breath to stay calm. All she had to do was ask… and be cool. Calm. _Calm, Parker, be calm._

Asking couldn't be that difficult, right? Right. "Jarod," she started softly, "are you telling me or not? I mean, I can try and beat it out of you, but I think that's just not gonna work."

Parker was almost sure that she'd get a solid "no" for an answer, and so, when she heard him speak it took her by surprise. "It was my father's," he said. "Or that's what the records say." The words surprised her even more. The Centre really knew how to screw up others' lives, didn't they? Funny thing was, she had gotten so used to it by now that after a few seconds of thinking about it, his words didn't even seem that shocking anymore. She should've known something like this would come up. They had cloned Jarod once, so how was this any different? What were they after this time, huh?

"Those assholes…"

_I second that, _she thought sighing. They really were a bunch of greedy bitches who lived to cause pain and suffering. Yep, if anyone in the world had still doubted that this would definitely prove otherwise. So, it was obvious they had used Ethan for their own sick endgame… but what was it that they wanted? If they had intended to grow a pretender out of him, why was he out there, why did he have a family… why wasn't he locked up in a cage like Jarod and the others had been? What was so different about Ethan? Other than the fact he was obviously out of his mind?

Things sure looked different now… It meant that Ethan was… the thought hit her right there. Her gaze met the back of Jarod's head and she found herself wishing he'd turn around so that she could see his face. "So… this Ethan person really is your brother then?"

Now it was Jarod who sighed before slamming the laptop shut killing the dim light the computer monitor had offered and only massaged his temple with one hand to ease the pain. He had never been one to have killer migraines, but right now, it felt like he could easily get one any second. "I… I think so, yeah." It felt weird to say it, but it did make sense. It certainly explained why they had tried to get rid of Emily so brutally.

How had they done it? Jarod's mind was screaming for answers. How the hell had Ethan ended up living outside the Centre? What was his purpose?

"The Centre just knows how to stir things up, don't you think?" Parker snorted moving backwards on the bed until her back reached the metallic headboard. Leaning backwards against the cold metal, she reached to her side and lit the lamp on the nightstand illuminating her side of the bed.

What she really wanted to ask was if he was okay, but somehow it didn't seem appropriate… just wait a minute. Was she genuinely worried about his current state of mind? Was she, Miss Parker of all people, actually concerned of the well-being of… _him? _Great. Brilliant. _Just fucking perfect._ Like the guilt she felt for what she was supposed to do wasn't enough, now she had to feel sorry for him for all the other things the Centre had done, too? Where was higher powers when she needed them? Nowhere. Fucking nowhere.

"What I think is that… we should call Sidney." That was when he laid the laptop on the floor and actually turned around to face her. She observed his face to see if there was any hints that might have given away his thoughts, but as usual, there was none. Whatever Jarod was thinking was kept safe in the deep depths of his mind and it was already established that that was the one place she could never reach. The troubling part was that knowing it was actually disappointing.

"We should have that meeting." Parker had known he'd say it; she had known he'd want to meet him no matter what because Sidney had been like a father to him, but this way he actually had one reason more to do so. He climbed back to the bed without saying anything else and crawled under the covers. Once he was safely lying on his back once again, he placed his hands under his head and concentrated on staring at the ceiling as if there had been something highly fascinating there to watch. A pretender quirk, she decided simply.

A moment went by without neither saying anything. Parker spent that moment pondering whether or not she should continue the conversation or not whereas Jarod's mind couldn't pick a single thought to focus on. There were millions of questions flying around and no questions anywhere. "Yeah, I agree," she said carefully. "But we need to go meet Ethan's… parents first. That boy needs our help."

He shook his head slightly with a small sarcastic smile on his lips. "Since when have you cared about something like that?"

Okay, so he had just learned something disturbing, but did he have to turn into an asshole because of that? She tried her best to keep herself from saying anything too mean or evil by counting to ten. It was something her mother had taught her… and if 10 wasn't enough, there was plenty of numbers to go. It did feel a little comforting though; to know he was only human… he was feeling bad and he was taking it out on her. But then again, recognizing Jarod as a person instead of a simple labrat had its own problems too, which she had already discovered few days earlier. It made it impossible for her to decide on which side was she. His, theirs, her own? What was her own side anyway?

_You're trying to get pregnant by Jarod so that you can show your brother you can be just as nasty as he can?_

Yeah, what was her side exactly?

Something flickered in her eyes, as she pulled herself together again giving him the kind of cold look he had known to love and cherish. Ah, there she was, the old Miss Parker. "I might be cold-blooded bitch, Jarod, which you already knew, but I'm not completely heartless, which you also know. And that kid is in trouble and someone needs to take care of him and this _thing_. The faster we get him under control, the faster we can concentrate on the issue with my mother."

"Being a bit selfish, are you?" He spit back giving her a matching look - very cold one, that was. Why the hell did he sound so insulted? So sarcastic? Wasn't it her job to be bitchy and difficult and he was the one who laughed it off and joked around? Pretended all was fine and so on?

"It's the Parker in me, dear," she replied pulling her knees against her front and wrapping her arms around them ignoring the fact it exposed her legs to his view. Not that he was really looking anyway, he was staring at the ceiling again. She couldn't help but wonder if it was because he was trying to organize his thoughts out or if he was simply avoiding her eyes. Or her legs. Hmm, interesting thought to, because if that was the case, then she was actually progressing with her insane assignment. "Can't hide from what's inside, sweetie. The sooner we get this case closed, the sooner you'll get rid of me, ok?" It had sounded more icier than she had meant, but since she couldn't take it back, she shrugged it off.

"Whoever said I want to get rid of you?"

Huh? What?

Very, very slowly he turned to look at her meeting a pair of confused eyes. He looked mad and for the first time she really didn't know why. What had she done? And what was that supposed to mean? Of course he wanted to get rid of her. She chased, he ran and that was how the game was played. "Don't be stupid," she snorted, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable sitting there and not moving and so, to solve the issue, she tore her eyes off of his and laid back down on the bed turning her back on him. "Good night." And with that, without waiting for him to say anything back, she turned the lights off and closed her eyes.

Parker knew something had changed. She wasn't sure what or when, but something had. Jarod had let her see a side that she had never seen before - sure, he always did repeat he was a human being and had feelings, but for the first time ever, she had actually felt it. Scary.

When Miss Parker had been a little girl, Sidney had once told her to go easy on Jarod. At the time she hadn't really known what he meant… no, actually, she had. She knew perfectly well what the man had meant, but being Parker, she had denied it forcefully. Sidney had answered that by smiling mysteriously while adding that Jarod was a strong boy with a weak heart and that a girl such as Miss Parker shouldn't play around with it just because she was smart enough to know the boy cared for her.

The way he was behaving… could it be that the game she had played with him when they had been kids had actually affected him in ways she hadn't even considered to be possible?

_What are you saying? That he's madly in love with you just because you once happened to like him and -_

The thought was cropped short when she felt the mattress move along with him. He had turned on his side to see her better and was now supporting his head with his hand, elbow against the bed. He hadn't actually moved closer, but she could have sworn the space between them had gotten smaller.

"It's funny, cause according to you, Parker, that's all I am." His tone had changed and the seriousness in it actually managed to pause her breathing. She remembered dad always said that your best defense is strong offense, but for once, she didn't have anything with what to actually go. First of all, Jarod had already had one hell of a day to begin with and secondly… she didn't want to fight with him, which was weird, considering the fact fighting was how they had spent most of their time after Jarod's little escape.

"Stupid? Well yes, maybe you shouldn't always take my words so literally." Her eyes blinked open the minute she heard herself saying those words. It definitely wasn't what she had meant to say, but… well… the first step had to be taken at some point. At least, that's what she kept telling herself. That was why she was willing to play nice with him. The only reason. It had to be. It was one thing to act for him… but another to actually feel for him. Unfortunately option B didn't work with her job description and that was that.

His eyebrow rose. Partly because the respond had surprised him, and partly because it amused him a little. "Is that so?"

Parker was starting to freak out. Logically there was no reason for her to freak out, but no matter how many times she told herself she was being stupid, the feeling didn't go anywhere. So. This was it, wasn't it? The big first step that she had to take in order to get the job done…

"What time is it?"

And just like that she had chickened out. _Shit!_ For someone who had been working for the Centre for way too long, backing out was not an option. Not anymore, anyway - so, what the hell was she doing? Parker couldn't answer the question.

"Why, are you trying to change the subject?" Jarod had moved closer. Parker could tell this, because she could feel his breath against the back of her head. What the hell was his problem? It was like she had crossed a borderline and stepped into a fucking alternative universe. Jarod didn't speak like that to her, not with that kind of tone and that was a fact she knew for sure. "Don't worry, still few hours until we gotta get up and get moving."

Oh, that was not what was worrying her. Something else was.

"I'm not sure what kind of spirit just took over your body, Jarod," she spat, "but it's freaking me out."

He laughed out loud and before she knew it, his hand suddenly grabbed the nape of her neck. It was a gentle touch and it stayed that way only because she was smart enough to realize what it was that he wanted. Within a minute he had already forced her to turn around without saying anything, but even then the hand stayed still. She moved her head slightly wondering if it was the weight that kept his hand underneath her neck. Nope, obviously it wasn't.

Parker couldn't speak. Was it due the hand underneath her or the fingers drawing circles against her skin, she wasn't sure, but she figured it probably had something to do with both. Ah yes, that and his eyes that were locked into hers. She could feel the panic raising its head somewhere inside her; had Jarod found out? Had Sidney told him why she was there?

It was the only reason she could think of. Jarod was angry, wasn't he? Why else would he have looked at her with that kind of determination in his eyes? Jarod wasn't a violent man, that much she knew, but who was she to say he couldn't become one? No, thinking along those lines wasn't helpful at all. Now, what she had to do was simply concentrate on coming up with an excuse. A credible one, too.

Oh, Sidney was a fucking dead man.

"Know what I like?" He finally spoke with a hint of amusement in his voice. What the fuck? He was amused? He was _amused! _Ah of course he was. He had figured out her big bad secret and won the big game. No wonder he was amused by her - once again, the great pretender had beaten her to it. The next she'd be simply dragged out of the bed, crammed into a box and shipped off to Africa. Fuck!

Fine. Then so be it. She'd swallow the humiliation _after_ that, but not a moment before. "No," she spat, although her voice wasn't nearly as icy as intended to, "I really don't care to know either. Whatever it is, I won't like it."

"This." Why was he speaking so softly? Why couldn't he be a normal guy and be mad? She was good with handling angry men, she knew dozens of ways to hurt them, kill even, but this? Aha. He knew her too well… he knew her weak spots; he was trying to confuse her!

And that he did - with one smooth move, the fingers around her neck forced her body closer to him. Holy hell… Before she could react, he had already brought her close enough to kiss her. It wasn't the same kind of kiss they had shared before, but sweet and gentle… the kind that made her hands move onto his chest without her knowledge. She could feel his heartbeat, feel the rapid beats…

"I like this," he whispered when he finally broke the kiss pulling back. He stared deep into her eyes and she didn't have the power to look away. "When you're not Miss Parker."

"You really are stupid if you think that," she replied with a whisper that grew stronger and stronger as she fought to restore her inner balance, "I am Miss Parker. One kiss ain't gonna change that."

"You think only you know how to play this game, don't you? Well you're wrong. I can play it too, April. I'm a pretender, I can do anything."

She was struck by his words - well, not so much by the words, but by that one simple word… April… no one had called her that since… since her mother had died. And just like that, the tears came flooding down her cheeks and all along, he had known they'd come. He pulled her closer, capturing her into his arms, but she felt no need to resist. Against all reason, she only cling onto him with silent tears running down her face. At some point -he was too deep in his thoughts to notice when- she stopped crying. Still, she didn't move but rather, relaxed against him, which took Jarod by a surprise.

He had at least expected some violence, but nothing happened. He wondered if he should say something, but no words came out. What could he have possible said? He had no idea what had happened or what he was doing - or even what he really wanted. Jarod had never thought of himself as a fool, but at that moment he realized it was exactly what he was. What had he expected? That by changing his tactics and by kissing her, he could've somehow broken through her barrier? Okay, some sort of barrier breaking through had definitely taken place, but still… maybe he should've thought it a little bit further.

So, what now?

Finally she spoke, but not the words he had expected to hear. "Are you pretending to be in love with me?" she asked with such fragile voice that for a moment he wasn't sure what to say. It was as if the past had caught up with him and once again he was there, at the Centre with the young Miss Parker. Because of that image, it took a lot of effort for his brain to be able to remind him it was _the_ Miss Parker there in his arms - not the young one, but the much older, much more cynical… much deadlier one. That woke him up to reality. One way or another, he would get to the bottom of this and find out what had really brought her to him.

"If I told you the way of my game, would it be fun then, huh?" He said the words with a smirk, but if she had still been looking into his eyes, she would've seen the confusion and pain saying the words brought. Pretending? No, he was pretty damn sure it had never been a pretend. She had always been too stupid to notice that.

While he was trying to figure out what to do next, all she could do was wonder how it had gotten so fucked up… just when had the roles been reversed? Who the fuck had given them the permission to do so, huh? No one.

Without warning him, she sat up and got up from the bed. "I need a shower." That was all she said before disappearing into the bathroom and leaving Jarod alone in the room.

Yep, things had definitely taken an interesting turn and she wasn't sure what worried her more… the fact it had… or the fact she had nothing against it.

0000

**A/N: **Ok , let's see… I hope you're still enjoying. I know both Parker and Jared seem a bit different, but hey… he's a guy. No genius-gene can change that and the fact we know he's loved Parker like since the year the world was created. MWUAHAHAHAHAHAH. And I don't think I even need to explain Parker - she's a total softie underneath it all, damnit. Anyway, we're getting somewhere, aren't we? Very Parker centric chapter because I'm evil that way. Just figured they need some quality time together, because… well… they just do! I know it's complicated with them and rather frustrating too, but everything just can't be that easy, right? Also, I could write a very long and somewhat logical (although, my logic usually differs from the logic of others, for some reason) rant as to why I chose April to be Miss Parker's birth name, but I'm too lazy to type it up. Throw a wild guess if you will and see if you can figure it out, mwuahaha. I dare you. If you feel like flaming me like some, I'm asking you to drop dead. Try again next week, I might be more open to that crap then.

Yes I know there's the whole 'reply to review' thing but I'm too lazy to go for that one right now (or ever, really), so:

**Virago500: **What gave you the impression that's what she'll do::wink, wink: Thank you, btw, for giving me my long waited 30th review!

**Nancy: **Oh, so many lovely questions! I can't wait to get to answer them, mwuahahahah!

**Karone Evertree:** :D Hee, thank you. I'm glad people haven't stoned me for bringing Zoey there::phew:

**Sirus183:** That's what I'm trying, hee. Thanks.

**HuntingPeace:** Yes, I'm interested in that too. Meh.

**Nathou: **Thank you! I'm happy to hear all that - loved your review!

Personally though, I must say: Most people seem to think Miss Parker could never go through with this kind of mission, but I've always seen her as someone that actually could. Why? She has lost her mother and Thomas and all she's been left with is her life at the Centre and her father. Miss Parker isn't a bad person, but yeah, I think she could try and get pregnant by Jarod because she wants to show her father that she could do it. Because it's her fighting against the inner demons and because she's grown up inside the Centre's walls where everything is twisted and different. And also because she's always played this game with Jarod, her chasing, he running and she's fucking tired of it. She wants to end it and she wants to be the winner, because that's the kind of person she is. She might hate her job, she might hate her father for all the secrets and things he's done (and made her do as well) and she might hate her brother, but it's still all she's got and I dunno, I dun see her as someone who could just go and leave it all behind like that. She needs a reason - Thomas WAS her reason, but isn't anymore. Miss Parker is a fighter and this is her battle. The question the fic is (hopefully) bringing out, is that whether she'll find the reason or not. And that's what we'll see. It's not about whether Miss Parker is the kind of person who could do something like this, but whether she's the kind of person who could choose not to. The keyword being 'choose', heh. Hope that made sense… at all. I just love to make my characters suffer and so happy endings are always questionable with me. You can never be sure.

So sorry for the long rant, heh!


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